Of Earth and Sky
by ZuEra
Summary: "Most days she was fine-most days she didn't need anyone but herself and the company of her friends. It was just these nights that seemed to puncture her heart, keeping her awake and full of questions about herself." - The journey of raising Republic City from the ground. Post series. Toph/Teo shipping.
1. Preface

_Preface_

"Good morning, sunshine," came the sing-song voice of Katara, but it was the last thing that Toph wanted to hear. In fact, the only thing that she wanted to hear at all right now was the sound of her bedroom door closing and everyone else in the house leaving her to sleep the day away. Over the past year, Toph had grown accustomed to sleeping late, unlike the days of the war when they woke at sunrise to gallivant about saving the world. The chore of waking Toph, since that time, had fallen mostly upon Katara, who still stood at the foot of the bed.

"Toph, it's time to get up," she urged. There was a pause, then. Katara's voice had started off in quite a friendly manner, but was now losing the sugar-sweet tone. "Toph. Really."

"Spirits, Katara," Toph groaned, managing to pull her head off the pillow. "What do you want from me?"

At the sound of Katara's frustrated sigh, Toph rolled her eyes. "We've got a very big day ahead of us. Don't you remember? We've only been planning this for the past year."

"Oh, right, the city thing," Toph nodded incoherently, swinging her feet over the bed to the floor; suddenly her world became alive and she could see everything. "That's what you're talking about right?"

At a loss of kindness, Katara stepped out the door, adding in two more words before closing it. "Get dressed."

This "city thing", Toph knew, was truthfully of the utmost importance. It was to bring all of the nations back together-a place where peace would reside without struggle or challenge. The idea had originally been proposed shortly after the war ended at a meeting with their group. She, Aang, Zuko, Sokka, Katara, Suki, and even General Iroh (whom Toph was quite fond of) had all attended. The bones for the idea had been thrown around several times by all of them-Aang especially had desired such a thing-but it was Katara who finally formed a solid foundation, proposing that they do just as they always wished to do and create that safe haven of peace. It was quickly decided that Aang and Zuko, being the Avatar and the Firelord, would announce the plan to the world, and action would be taken as soon as possible. Come to find out, such a city takes more than a few frivolous meetings to form; they had to buckle down and get serious about this. The work became near-constant-so constant, in fact, that the gang eventually agreed to rent a home in the finally-restored Ba Sing Se (which was no problem at all for Toph, who had from the very beginning refused to go back to her parents). For the last year, now, they had all been living here (with the exception of Zuko, who had to come and go with his Firelord duties, and Aang who often had Avatar business to take care of).

This lifestyle was one that Toph enjoyed thoroughly; she got to do, for the most part, whatever she pleased. Nobody but Katara would speak up against her doings, and that was how Toph preferred it to be-just enough to keep her grounded. It was a lovely house too, from what Toph could tell-big, for sure, and most likely fancy and high-class. There was an enormous kitchen (where Sokka spent most of his time) and many rooms so that when she got tired of someone, she could simply leave and find another place to entertain herself. Another great thing about that was the fact that she got her own bedroom; she was honestly worried that she would have to share with Katara. No, everyone had their own room. They would all stay up late and one by one venture back to their own quarters for sleep-usually Suki first, Sokka quickly following, then Katara (who usually busied herself with housework until she was too exhausted for anything more), and then Mai if she was accompanying Zuko, and finally Toph would abandon the last two. Some nights Toph would feel very carefully if she couldn't sleep, and often found that Zuko was the last remaining soul awake in the house. It was her theory that he stayed up thinking and worrying himself over his responsibilities (in her opinion, he had no idea how to be a Firelord and would probably destroy the world before he had a chance to bring peace to it). These were the things that, in Toph's mind, truly characterized her friends. She actually adored this about them; their funny habits and traits. It was living in this house that brought out a lot of it.

Among these things, Toph's very favorite thing about this place was the fact that even with all of the rooms, there were few walls in the house itself. She didn't feel contained. Right off of the back room sat a large balcony that seemed to tower over the whole world. She couldn't see it, but even feeling it was beautiful. It reminded her that she was free-free to be whoever she wanted. Of course, Toph had never really wanted to be anyone but herself-that was the whole reason she was so willing to stay here in the first place. She would certainly miss it now that they were leaving.

Almost bitterly, Toph dressed herself. It wasn't that she didn't want this city to finally rise up-in fact, she was extremely enthusiastic about the subject-it was just that change rubbed her the wrong way. Right now, the city was nothing-nothing but a big pile of grass and dirt. Construction wasn't even starting for a couple more weeks, and she wondered why they had to pack up and leave now when they could simply continue their plans here. Aang reasoned, though, that it was more proactive to get a plan for where everything would go-what everything would be. Well, she couldn't argue with the Avatar.

In actuality, Toph had known that this day-this day specifically-had been coming for months; she just hadn't prepared for it at all. All of her drawers were still full, and her bags were unpacked. Feeling in the mood as always to procrastinate, Toph threw her hair up and decided that packing could wait until after breakfast; whatever Katara was cooking smelled to-die-for. It was more than a surprise when she walked down the hall and felt that it was Sokka in the kitchen.

"Snoozles? You're making all of this?" she gaped tiredly, only able to form a smile on her face because she was so hungry and the food smelled _so_ good.

"That I am," Sokka replied smugly. "Don't seem so shocked. A guy who loves food as much as I do has to know a thing or two about cooking. I figured I'd whip us all up a farewell breakfast."

"Fine by me," she smirked, settling herself at the table. "Where is everybody?"

Sokka, hovered over a pan on the heavy iron stove, didn't seem terribly focused on their conversation anymore. "Bedrooms-something-yeah."

"Gee, thanks for the help," Toph said dryly, and plummeted into an annoying silence. The only thing to listen to was the sound of sizzling meat, which was particularly loud to her ears. Her own emotions she couldn't quite decipher-was she feeling particularly cranky this morning? It could have had to do with the fact that Katara woke her up for breakfast but was now nowhere to be found-nobody was here, actually. When the remaining three of the group bothered to show up, Toph was sure to shoot them her meanest glare, especially aimed towards Katara.

"Now come on, Toph," Aang chided. "Today's an exciting day. Don't be in such a bad mood."

"I'm not in a bad mood," she denied pointedly. "I'm just pissed cuz we're leaving this place and I actually liked it here."

The Avatar smiled gently at her, sitting down across the table and touching her hand. His eyes sparkled with kindness and hope like they always had, beckoning her genuine attention although she could not see them. She felt a hand on her shoulder and found that it was Katara standing behind her, offering support. Feeling comforted-and maybe a little claustrophobic-Toph sighed audibly. Aang was right; she shouldn't take out her childish grief on all of them. Had she not carried her pride like a weapon, she might have apologized. Instead, she just waited for the young Avatar to continue speaking.

The corners of Aang's lips turned upwards as he spoke, and his eyes began to twinkle as he lost himself in his own words. "Don't worry, Toph. You may love it here, but we're going to go create a place all our own. Something amazing is going to come of it, something for you-I can just feel it! There's a whole world of possibilities for what we can do now. The war is over, and we're all finally free."

Aang made it all sound very dreamy. Even Toph began to feel the flutter of excitement of what might happen to all of them. She realized that it was up to her to seize this opportunity-this brilliant opportunity-to be something special. Maybe she would finally find that thing to fill her hungry spirit that never seemed to be satisfied. Finally falling into to the web of the Avatar's words, Toph gave into the urge to smile widely. Satisfied, Aang gave her hand a squeeze, uttering one last, spirited vow.

"You're going to love it there, Toph. I promise."

* * *

**Hello, all! ZuEra here (: Yes, I realize that the shipping of this story says Toph/Teo, so you may have a few thoughts:**

**1) Why them?**

**Well, this leads all the way back to my days of writing fanfiction on the Nickelodeon website. I thought Toph deserved a sweet, attractive guy to love her, so who did I choose? Yeah, Teo. I'm not sure if it caught on from my own writing, or if others had the same idea later on, but if you look around you'll see that there is a small community of us Teoph shippers. I'm just in love with it.**

**2) If it's going to be Teo, then where is he?**

**Yes, I'm aware that he isn't there in this, or even mentioned thus far, but it _is _just the preface. He'll come along soon enough, but I want to keep this all realistic to what could happen. I'm not into the whole idea of "rushing into things". **

**Anyhoo, I love reviews of any kind, and call me crazy, but I love criticism as much as praise. Feel free to review, PM, or add the story to alerts so you can keep up.**

**Much love,**

**ZuEra**

******Spoiler Alert*******

**Teo comes in the third chapter.**


	2. Day One

_Day One_

The feeling of the wind on her face while soaring through the air was one that Toph had never quite grown used to. It was worse than walking on a wooden floor-there, she was blind, but at least could feel the security that there was _something _beneath her. Here, so high in the atmosphere, there was nothing. It was more than being blind-truly blind-it was blindness with the discomfort of knowing a too-strong wind or an unbalanced move could send her diving to the ground in a way that she did not prefer to meet it. Besides all of those other things, she and flight had gotten off on somewhat of a bad foot. Within her very first days of being with the gang, Appa had grown terribly exhausted and fell asleep in flight. Sure, Toph had feared living in the dark and lonely world that her parents built for her, or that she might never get to be free, but that fear had been something of a completely different nature-that fear had been in the realm of life or death. Never before had her stomach churned in such a gruesome way; she'd held onto something, anything (she couldn't even remember what that thing was in the aftermath) for her dear life and screamed, choked by the air as it pushed its way into her open mouth. The worst part of it all had been that she couldn't see a thing; all she could do was wait to hit the ground. The experience was a little scarring to her, but of course she learned to trust Appa again over time. This trip, in comparison to others that they'd taken, was a breeze.

It would take only a few days time to make the trek from Ba Sing Se to the new city, Sokka estimated. After reconsidering the stops that would be required to give Appa the proper rests, Aang corrected him: it would surely take a good week to get there because they would have to stop and set up camp each night. Appa would be fine; he was a team player, Sokka preached, but Aang quickly objected and the ordeal turned into a squabble.

"We get there when we get there," Toph shrugged, leaning back to cross her legs. They could stop a war that was one hundred years in the running, but they still lacked the ability to grow up; incredible, she reflected satirically.

"Toph's right, guys," Katara agreed. "It's really not worth arguing over. Don't worry, Aang; Appa will get the rest he needs."

Sokka's face fell. "B-b-but-"

"Shut it, Snoozles," Toph snapped, and indeed, Sokka shut it. "Why the big rush anyways? I mean, the same old dirt that's there now is going to be there a week from now."

"Maybe even better dirt," Suki smirked, poking her lover's side playfully.

"I had a schedule worked out, though," Sokka complained. "We're on a bit of a time-budget here."

Sokka was always so concerned with his schedules and organizers. Although they were meant to help, more often than not they caused more chaos and only annoyed the rest of the group. His deadlines were impossible, and usually were a bit Sokka-centric.

"You can throw any ideas of a 'time budget' out the window right now," Toph advised, "because I am not taking one of your two-minute-potty-breaks, and I am _definitely _not combining it with my meal time. If it'll make you feel better, you can combine your potty breaks and meal times and all of us will split up the time you saved for ourselves."

"Ha, very funny," Sokka rolled his eyes. "As you all know, I take these things very seriously-"

"Oh we know, Sokka," Katara said in a patronizing tone. "Just don't rush us, okay? We'll make it in good time; we always do."

Sokka crossed his arms and huffed, pouting like a child and turning his nose into the air. It was times like these that made the rest of them wonder what exactly Suki saw in the Water Tribe warrior. It was quite evident that whatever bond that they shared broke through the hissy-fits and immaturity; the two were inseparable. Suki had once said to Katara that she would leave the Kyoshi Warriors if it meant her relationship with Sokka-and here she was now, not on permanent leave from her team, but on leave no less. Fortunately for Suki, the Kyoshi Warriors grew significantly during the time after the war ended, and were able to expand as far as Ba Sing Se (where they replaced the Dai Li in protecting the city). It was a Suki's hope that they might have a hand in watching over the safety of this new city as well. That would be ideal, considering that she would be needed there for quite some time, and the city would need some sort of protection system. There was also still the question of who might rule this city-who would maintain order? Someone would have to. Everyone seemed to have their own ideas. It seemed that the Avatar was the obvious answer, but Aang didn't feel so sure. So much could go wrong, he always replied. He wasn't ready for such a responsibility. Even now, as he sat at the head of Appa, he was mulling over the options, looking for anything that could realistically work. Seeing that he was upset, Katara inched forward to him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Hey," she said quietly, not wanting the others to listen in. "Are you alright?"

"I'm not sure," Aang replied honestly. There was a momentary silence between them until he sighed. "I don't know what to do about this new city. How can anyone expect me to do this? I don't know the first thing about politics, or laws, or anything like that."

"We're all together in this one, okay? We're a team," Katara assured him, giving his shoulder a squeeze. "Between the lot of us, we'll be able to figure something out. We've got Zuko too; the Firelord ought to know a thing or two about running a government, wouldn't you say?"

"Then he should rule the city," Aang said wishfully. "I just can't do it."

Katara was silent. She hated when he talked like this. Aang was capable of so much-and was one of the most optimistic people that she knew until it came to himself. In the area of self-confidence, Aang was lacking. It didn't help that Toph liked to grill him for being so soft-hearted and sensitive ("Panda lily", she'd often call him-usually in the times when he wouldn't do what she wanted). As if he didn't feel weak enough on his own.

"You defeated the Firelord," she finally pointed out. "You didn't think that you could do that, but you did. You even did it without killing him. If you could do that, I _know _that you can do this-whatever happens, and I'll be with you ever step of the way."

Katara always knew what to say to make him feel better, even in the midst of his spurts of anger or childish outbursts, she stood by him. Of course that was a two-way street; he'd give anything for Katara, something that they'd all learned long ago. It made being the Avatar quite a difficult task for him-there were times when balancing out the priorities of his love and his responsibilities became hazy and he'd made selfish choices.

"And we're always here for you too," Sokka piped up, catching both Aang and Katara off guard.

Toph punched Aang's arm. "Yeah, we've got your back, Twinkle Toes."

"Always," Suki promised.

Seeing their kind faces, Aang felt a warmth inside of him. He could never ask for better friends than these. If he were honest, he'd be crazy for trusting them-they knew no more than he did-but he did trust them, with every ounce of his being.

"I love you guys," he confessed, a grin breaking onto his face.

"Yeah, yeah," Toph smirked. "Don't be such a panda lily."

"Lighten up, Toph," Katara said, but Toph disregarded her.

"What? He knows I love him," she said, and then admitted, "I love all of you guys."

"Aw, well isn't that cute?" Sokka teased, always in the mood to turn the tables and give Toph a hard time for once. "If you ask me, it's time to land this thing for a few minutes because I am highly in need of a potty break."

Upon being referred to as a "thing", Appa omitted a deep grumble, and Aang patted him sympathetically. "Actually, Sokka, I think it's about time to set up camp for the night. We'll want to do it while there's still some light."

If they needed to save the light, Toph considered, that meant that it was already sunset. Where had this day gone? She'd spent most of it cooped up in a saddle on top of a furry sky bison, and it still managed to fly by. Of course she wasn't about to object.

"I'm with Aang," she agreed. "We should set up camp; I'm beat."

"So soon?" Sokka frowned. "We could still cover a lot of ground-with just a few more hours we could be right on schedule!"

Another low-octave roar from Appa settled the score; they would land for the night.

The warmth of a campfire, the tents set up just so and the laughter amongst them set a very nostalgic mood. The times of adventure and travel were long passed, but they would never be too old for this. This night, in particular, reminded Toph of her first night with the gang because she was cranky and fairly certain that she would get no sleep on the hard ground (she wondered if she had allowed herself too much luxury; perhaps she'd become too pampered). She'd have to buck up, though-there would be no soft beds in the new city, either (not yet, at least). She was already becoming more comfortable, though, digging her toes into the dirt and enjoying the excitement it gave her senses. The night seemed to be a good one, too, although Toph couldn't see any proof. The air smelled clear and clean, a big contrast to the air of Ba Sing Se which smelled of dirty people the further out you went and confinement the the deeper in. Yes, the air here smelled like freedom.

Across the campfire, Katara sat on the ground, leaning over a map of the world, studying it. A smug expression crossed her face, and she tapped her brother on the shoulder.

"Sokka," she hissed when he didn't immediately turn. When he faced her, the fire gleaming behind him, she continued to speak. "I think we're actually _ahead _of schedule."

"What? That's impossible," Sokka gaped, dropping to her level to double check her calculations. "We didn't even shorten our meal times."

"But look," she pointed to the map, crumpling it slightly with her finger. "That's Full Moon Bay; we passed that hours ago."

Sokka gasped. "What? No we didn't!"

"Ha," Toph, who had-along with the others-been listening in, laughed. "Maybe you missed it when you were busy whining and pouting."

Sokka's face turned red with anger, but he held his tongue. He knew that it would only satisfy Toph if he released his fury.

"We passed it, Sokka," Katara assured him, "and if we keep up the pace, we should be well-passed the Great Divide by tomorrow night."

"That's great," Aang smiled, walking over to Appa to nuzzle him. "You've been working hard, Buddy. Thank you."

Appa grumbled sentimentally, licking Aang as a "you're welcome".

"Alright, alright," Sokka said, a little-too-loudly to get everyone's attention. "That being said, if we all sacrifice a little bit-shortened meal times, et cetera-then I think we can make it to the grounds of the new city in no time."

Everyone quickly objected to this, but with a round of rather pathetic persuasion from Sokka (that would have drove them mad lest they agreed with him) it was decided that for one day_-just_ one-they would do things his way and see how things might go. This was, of course, on the condition that they would get one longer break so that Appa could recharge on energy. During this time, the rest of them would also have a chance to relax, which would be nice. All of the traveling had taken more out of them than they'd predicted; over time, they'd become used to an easier lifestyle, so starting up so abruptly was comparable to the toll it took on them when they first began. It was just an hour or so after night fell, but they were all ready to sleep.

Toph bended herself a roomy earth tent were she made herself cozy on the ground, reacquainting herself with it. Her thoughts quickly lulled her to sleep, where she would have remained happily through the night had a hard thud on the ground outside alerted her. Her eyes snapped open, her senses on point. It was Sokka, she soon realized; no doubt he had taken a spill on his way to-Toph waited, feeling him get up and tip-toe across the camp-Suki's tent. Of course. On more than one occasion she had felt him do such a thing, and felt Aang sneak off to Katara in the night as well. Once awakened, her senses could never seem to block out even the slightest vibrations. Often times she'd lay there, unable to do anything but feel the movement of bodies entangled together, making love, or sometimes just holding each other peacefully. On those nights, Toph would have pulled her blanket closer to her body in attempt to forget how alone she was in the big room, but here she had no blanket. She suddenly felt very cold, wishing she had someone to snuggle up against. There was no one, though. She rolled to her side, tucking her arms into her chest to resist the chills.

Despite her efforts, sleep did not return to her for some time. She found her thoughts repeating themselves, asking questions of what was wrong with her-was there something so different from the others that left her alone like this? Most days she was fine-most days she didn't need anyone but herself and the company of her friends. It was just these nights that seemed to puncture her heart, keeping her awake and full of questions about herself. She'd remind herself that she didn't need a man-she liked herself, and that was what counted. Still, the other half of her heart would argue that maybe she was wrong in her ways. Katara, Suki, even Mai had their lovers, but Toph had nothing to show for herself. If there was an ounce of an appealing trait in her, some guy somewhere would have showed some sort of interest in her, but such a thing had never happened. Aside from that one tender moment with Sokka over a year in the past now (the one that had made her stomach flutter at his presence for weeks after it occurred), she'd never shared anything with any guy. Was she ugly? Maybe. Unappealing? Quite possibly. She didn't want to change, though, which made her feel more hopeless than ever. If there was ever a guy out there who could handle her, Toph figured that she wouldn't fancy him much anyway; she'd never found someone who could put up with her, but if she did, he'd probably be quite lost in the mind anyway. It all seemed like a dead end when she considered it realistically.

_Childish thoughts, Toph_, she thought, and sighed. _You're better than that._

Forcing the thoughts away as best as she could, Toph focused on breathing steadily, and soon fell into a restless sleep until morning. Still, a part of her could not block out the feeling of things that went bump in the night.

* * *

**Hey guys! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. If you did, fantastic (: If you didn't, I've got good news-things will soon get more interesting once the team makes it to the grounds for Republic City. I thought the whole idea of Toph feeling the couples together was interesting-but hopefully not too vulgar for anyone's taste. Just think about how hard that would be. I personally have always thought Toph was lonely...**

**Just another note: Updates will be put up as frequently as possible. However, I have a lot of school work on top of a personal novel that I'm currently wrapping up, so those things might slow me down a bit. No worries, though! I will always make time to write-that's not even an option.**

**ALSO! If you expect things in this story to be all flowers and rainbows, begone! I am fond of a little darkness in my stories. I won't do anything too awful, because who doesn't love happy endings? I'm just saying those things can come at a cost (keeping it real-a theme of mine lol.)**

**Review! PM! I love opinions (: **

**Peace out, Troopers!**

**ZuEra**


	3. Reacquainted With Freedom

_Reacquainted With Freedom_

"I spy with my little eye - something - hm - brown," Sokka said, peering over the side of Appa's large saddle at the world below them. They'd been at this for hours now, going on Sokka's schedule, and found themselves hopelessly bored. Even Sokka, although he'd never admit it, was starting to doubt the necessity of his plan. Sitting next to him, his sister sighed irritably.

"Sand," she replied, not even guessing. Since taking flight at dawn they'd been playing this game. It was made apparent very quickly that from this view, there were not a lot of details to point out; everything began to look the same: the trees, the sand, the grass. They'd seen it all by now.

"You know, this is the one part of the good old days that I never missed," Sokka admitted, stretching a long yawn out of his throat. "I spy with my little eye, something - spirits, I don't know."

Toph scoffed. "Wow, Sokka. You're good at this game."

"Oh yeah? You think you could do better?" Sokka shot back, but frowned when he realized the irony of the question. "Eh, no offense, of course."

"Yeah, and you thought you were bored. I just have to sit here in the dark; I'm literally blind right now, forced to listen to you guys talk about all this crazy stuff."

From the head of the giant bison, Aang chuckled. He'd been listening the entire time as Toph had, and knew how painfully bored she must be. "That does sound pretty awful, Toph."

"Believe me, Twinkletoes, it is."

"Why don't you get some sleep, Toph?" Katara suggested, motioning to Suki who had done so just shortly after they began traveling today. "You still seem a little tired, you know."

Toph's eyes narrowed. "Are you calling me cranky?"

"Whoa," Sokka held his hands up as a peace gesture. "Whoa there, ladies. Let's not get into all of that business."

Fights between Katara and Toph were always of the most brutal fashion. For the most part, the two managed to get along quite well, but they certainly had their days. Admittedly, Toph was a little rough around the edges, and Katara could be a bit motherly on certain occasions, but neither would own up to flaws beyond those. In their own minds, it was always the other in the wrong. Still, they shared a great friendship, and even had a great respect to uplift them further. It was nice for Toph to have Katara now that they were totally used to each other; she'd always needed someone to talk to about all of her problems. At home, she'd never gotten the chance to do such a thing with her mother - now it was clear that she probably never would. Rejecting her parents once again was (Toph would say) possibly not the best of ideas. Of course, she hadn't planned for it to turn out the way it had. She had envisioned the talk to go much more peacefully, where her parents would sit like the civilized folk that they were and listen to what she had to say, and then things could be discussed. In the end they'd have to come up with some sort of compromise, because Toph certainly wasn't staying there should things remain the same. An idea of her own was to simply "loosen" the rules and slowly diminish them altogether, but she didn't even get so far to suggest it. The moment they'd located her, they had her brought home and the interrogation began. Part of her wondered if they might be proud for what she'd done, but those dreams were quickly stomped on. New rules needed to be put into place, her parents said, and Toph wouldn't stand for it. In a heated storm she'd bounded out of the house again. She'd had to find a place to sleep overnight before she contacted Aang, asking if she might stay with him (just for a few days, she'd originally said, until she got on her feet again). It ended up that Ba Sing Se, the worst city ever as she'd called it, wasn't as bad now that the war was over. The Dai Li had been eliminated, and things weren't so dark all the time. Along with the majority of the gang, she'd decided to stay there. Now, here they all were, on the move once again. After all this time in the air (and the awful sleeping troubles in the night previous) Toph considered that a short nap might not be so terrible.

"Yeah, you're right, Katara. I could lay down for a little while. Someone wake me up for lunch."

"Sure thing, Toph," Katara said. "It shouldn't be too long."

Toph nodded to her, resting her head on her palm, finding it more comfortable than the cold leather of the saddle. Despite the chatter of the three friends still awake, she dozed off rather quickly. Here she didn't feel a thing, and blocking out sound was far easier than blocking out movement. When she let her thoughts wander, she was able to forget altogether where she was right now and regain the lost rest from last night. She fell asleep in hopes that she might wake to find them not only on the ground, but done with this traveling ordeal for good. Of course she knew that the new city was hundreds of miles away still, but she'd always been a dreamer.

* * *

All things taken into consideration, Aang figured that if they could make it with a few extra hours, they might be able to make it to the grounds tomorrow night. Thus far, they'd made excellent progress, moving faster than any of them had imagined. All of this was due to Appa, of course, who must have had some sense of what they were doing; he certainly seemed excited. Right now they were relaxing. With the ground they'd covered, they decided to land early for the day, setting up camp near a wide river with clear waters. The air was crisp and fragrant of summer; it was an evening too good to let waste away.

With dinner time approaching, Sokka started a fire and began cooking some meat over it, sneaking a few bites here and there from each piece as he finished it until Suki scolded him. Aang and Katara had ventured into the waters of the river, splashing around and practicing waterbending techniques.

"Toph, come on in!" Aang called, waving his arm over in a large gesture.

"Yeah right, Twinkletoes. I'm just fine where I'm at now," Toph replied, pounding her fist into the one rock she'd found that was big enough for her to perch on.

"You'd have fun, Toph," Katara persuaded. "When was the last time you took a nice, relaxing swim?"

"Never - I always starting drowning first. I don't _swim_ Katara; you know that. Of course, either of you guys are free to come out here and provide me some entertainment. Meat-head over here is getting annoying."

Toph ignored the objection of Sokka over her shoulder, complaining about how he "resents that nickname". Not much to her surprise, both the Avatar and his girlfriend kindly refused her offer, but Toph supposed that she was okay with that. She didn't mind more time on her own; she liked it, actually. This rock was a particularly comfy one, so she leaned back on it and made herself right at home. Maybe all of this traveling wasn't so awful; it gave her a chance to be around all the things that the city didn't have. It was hard to believe that she'd even survived in the last year all cooped up. Perhaps it was that fact that compared to the Ba Sing Se that she knew during the war, things hadn't been so bad; the rules were not so constricting anymore, so it felt like freedom. It had taken her a while to adjust, though. For the first month or so she'd longed to go out into battle, or even to hop on Appa for a ride-well, the grass is always greener on the other side.

"You hungry, Toph?" Sokka asked, drawing her from her thoughts. Toph inhaled through her nose, breathing in the smell of juicy saber-tooth moose.

"I could eat. You gonna call the lovebirds or should I?" Toph smirked, swinging her legs over the edge of the rock to the ground.

Sokka looked towards the water and gagged; whatever bending exercise the pair had been doing had turned into a play-fight, and Sokka still didn't like to see Aang acting sentimentally with his sister (he already had his ideas about what they did in private, which disgusted him even more). Suki, seeing the expression on his face, patted him sympathetically. "I'll get them, Sokka."

Unable to see clearly through the water's fuzziness, Toph wondered what exactly Aang and Katara had been doing to draw such a rapid change in heartbeat from Sokka. It couldn't have been anything too bad-they saved most intimate activities for times of privacy. It was probably just a kiss or a hug even; Sokka got upset over the tiniest things. She didn't care to be around for such things, either; she just couldn't understand why people would act so silly and annoying. It was one thing to like someone (Toph could understand that), but to let that person change the way that one behaves seemed utterly ridiculous, and it made her uncomfortable. She hoped to never be that way. Sokka, on the other hand, had no room to criticize. He and Suki were worse than Aang and Katara when it came to acting out in public. It seemed as if their fingers were always intertwined, and their lips always searching for each others', and their bodies cuddled up against one another. Sokka's opinion probably had little to do with morals, though, and quite a bit to do with the fact that Katara was his little sister, and Aang was the fellow who'd come along and made her grow up in ways that she needn't grow up in yet. Being the eldest of the two, Sokka seemed to believe that he was exempt from any rules that he put on Katara. Those two were incredible: Sokka always trying to parent Katara, and Katara always trying to parent everybody else. It was a wonder that any of them survived the chaos.

"It's so beautiful out here," Katara commented, gazing at the forest just off the river. "All the trees are colored already, though; it's still summer."

"I think these trees are always like this," Aang replied, setting down his plate to look for a moment. "They must stay this brilliant red color from the time they bloom."

Katara paused for a moment, chewing her food slowly as she thought. She considered their location-the landmarks that they'd passed, the time it had taken them-and looked back and the crimson leaves surrounding them. The river, too, contributed to these things that she was thinking over. Yes, the river was of special importance. There had been a river right next to the forest in her memory. The forest in her memory possessed leaves full of reds and oranges just like this. Could it be...?

"Sokka, where are we?" the waterbender asked, turning her head up to get a full view of the place. She strained her eyes and stretched her neck, searching the trees for life. "Sokka?"

"Hold on, I'm checking," Sokka mumbled, fumbling for the map in his bag. He pulled the paper out, carefully spreading it on the ground so not to wrinkle it. "Let's see... We're - here. See the river?"

"I knew it!" Katara exclaimed, jumping up and running for the trees. Each pair of eyes followed her, only staring until they each began to register where exactly they were. Aang first, and then Sokka took off after Katara, and Toph quickly joined them, leaving Suki hopelessly confused.

"Wait - Toph!" she called out, and the Blind Bandit stopped and turned. "Where are they going?"

Toph threw her hands up. "Like I know! I'm not gonna sit here and miss it, though!"

Giving in, Suki stood and sprinted after the group, barely catching up before they reached the thick and distinct line of trees that began the vast forest in front of them.

"Wow," Katara breathed. "I forgot how beautiful it was here."

In a nostalgic state, Katara wandered through the scattered trees, her head tilted far up to study this world that seemed all its own. Through the leaves, the sun plastered their skin with breathtaking red hues that they all admired. Hearing their "ooohs" and "ahhs", Toph stopped short, beginning to get impatient.

"And where exactly are we?" she asked, crossing her arms. "All I can feel is a bunch of trees."

"Yes, Toph, trees," Katara nodded, approaching her. "But - remember Jet? From Ba Sing Se?"

Toph caught the hint of seriousness in Katara's voice, and remembered the fate of the adventurous and high-strung boy. "Yeah, I remember him."

"Well," Katara paused to take a deep breath. "This is where we met him. It's incredible, really. They had a whole network - a civilization, really - up in the trees. There were tons of them - all kids, except for Pipsqueak."

It wasn't until now that Toph noticed just how quietly everyone else was listening. Feeling slightly awkward, and still out of the loop, she questioned, "Well are you going to go see them all, or just stand here like morons?"

Sokka sighed somberly, fidgeting with the fabric of his tunic. "We don't know if they're here anymore, Toph."

Didn't know? Toph had no idea what that could have meant. Thinking back, however, to when The Duke and Pipsqueak had first joined them, Katara instructed her not to ask either of them about their friends or their past; maybe this had to do with all of that. But why wouldn't they know? The subject of Jet and his friends had always been a sort of taboo - nobody brought it up or spoke of it; Toph wondered if in secret they all though about it. On the surface, it was a mystery - as if it was an unspoken but well-known rule to not bring it up. In her thoughts and considerations, Toph forgot to ask why, and only continued deeper through the trees, curious as to what they must look like to draw such a reaction from her friends. From her view, they were like any other trees, jutting up from the ground with an odd gracefulness as they spread their branches out. From here, Toph couldn't feel the leaves - they were so light and weightless, and far up for that matter. She didn't care for the crunch that they made when she stepped on them, though - it made her feet uncomfortable. She'd picked them up from time to time and stroked them, and then more often than not had crushed them between her fingers. There must have been something pretty special about the way that they looked, because just from feeling them, Toph didn't understand the big fuss that everyone made. However, when the wind blew through the trees, Toph got a very fuzzy feel for what they looked like up there, just barely moving enough to catch her senses from the ground; like that, they felt somewhat pretty - somewhat worth while.

Just as Toph began to become absorbed in this calm state of mind, she felt a rapid movement from above.

"Hold up," she said over her shoulders to her friends. "I think we've got trouble."

On pure instinct, each of them tensed and got into their stances, readying themselves for whoever this attacker might be.

"They're on the move," Toph announced, concentrating on the rowdy vibrations being sent down. "Get ready, guys."

The anticipation was the worst, each of them wondering when the enemy might jump down; who the enemy would go for; who would make the first move.

"Hey, look at that! We didn't have to be worried after all," a young voice yelled down from the trees. "It's the Avatar!"

As one, the group looked upwards as a cloud of children dropped to the ground, some hanging by their legs from branches and others jumping from unimaginable heights and managing to land swiftly. How still they must have been standing, Toph thought, for her to not have felt them all. Like a flock of birds all of the child-warriors ran to them, beckoning them to stay. Toph didn't recognize any of them, but it seemed that some were acquainted with Aang, Sokka and Katara.

"So why don't you introduce us to your other friends," suggested a fat boy, nodding towards Toph and Suki.

"You might have to do the introducing," Aang pointed out. "I'm not sure we've met all of you officially."

"Very true," agreed the fat boy. He put his arm on his chest. "I'm Sneers. This is Chance, Rogue, Spot, Picket, Blade, Rusty, Dusty, and Dove. We're Freedom Fighters."

"Nice to meet you all," Suki said, and Toph nodded to them as if she'd seen who was who. "I'm Suki, and this is Toph."

"Nice to meet you too," said a few of the Freedom Fighters, and then Sneers stepped forward. "What brings you guys to the area?"

Aang chuckled. "Well, it's kind of a long story."

"Join us for dinner and tell us all about it," Sneers said, and it seemed like a good idea. They were here anyway, so why not have a little fun with old friends? Truth be told, they'd never really had the chance to talk with Sneers or any of these other fighters, but it would be nice to. Without much persuasion, they followed the group of kids - about two years older now, and not as much "children" as when they'd last seen them - between the trees until Sneers stopped. "Here we are."

For a moment, Toph had to bite her tongue to keep from remarking that she didn't feel anything there. This was quickly relieved when Sneers told about the ropes system and then demonstrated it.

Toph felt herself stepping backwards in fear. "Not happening. I'll just go back to the camp if it's all the same to you guys."

"What's the matter?" asked one of the boys. "Are you afraid of heights or something?"

"No!" she quickly objected. "I'm not afraid of anything."

"Toph's blind," Katara explained, "so she doesn't really care for flying - or hanging onto ropes and getting pulled up into the trees, for that matter. Come on, Toph, it'll be okay."

Before Toph could object, Katara grabbed her by the arm. Her stumbling to get away from Katara faded into holding onto her with all of her strength as she felt her feet begin to lift off of the ground, and her view of the world minimizing until it was gone completely. Katara, feeling Toph's body tense, giggled in spite of herself, and told Toph that they were almost done.

_One, two, three, four, five,_ Toph counted in her head, doing her best to keep her breathing steady. She pictured herself on the ground, earthbending, laughing. _Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Keep calm, Toph, keep calm._

Even when they were finished (and Toph commented that "eleven seconds is definitely not 'almost done' when you can't see a thing"), she felt no better. Safe on the ground, the only concern she'd had was the ride up, but she hadn't considered at all that all of the platforms and walkways would be made of wood.

"Fantastic," she grumbled. "I hate being blind..."

Of course she meant that in the sense of not feeling anything here. She'd have to stumble around on someone's arm as long as they were here, always wondering if she might be too close to an edge. More than that fear, though, she hated to be viewed as weak. It was bad enough for her friends to see her like this - to have to watch her like a child and be burdened with her - but these people didn't know her at all; they were sure to think that she was unable to take care of herself, when really she was just fine on her own.

"This way, Toph," Sokka called, and linked her arm with his to help lead her. Reluctantly she took it and followed, cringing at the feeling of the rough wood on her feet.

The situation improved once they sat down for dinner. The feeling of unsteadiness was minimized, as this was quite like sitting on Appa's back. To have the food and friends as a distraction was also nice. For being in such a primitive area, the Freedom Fighters had managed to collect quite a feast. Lush fruits and large servings of fish paved the surface of the table stretching from the head where Sneers sat to the far end where the younger children were placed. As guests of honor, the group was welcomed to the high end. This was particularly interesting to Toph, who had never been here to experience it before; even kids in the trees honored a system of hierarchy. For those of the team who had been here before, it was just as interesting, but for different reasons completely; there had been no dramatic speech before dinner this time, and the presence of a higher command seemed to be missing. It cast a dark shadow, though the Freedom Fighters seemed to be used to this by now.

"So how have things been?" Katara asked Sneers, leaning closer to be heard over the chatter of the crowd. "Have you been in touch with Smellerbee and Longshot?"

"Well, not too much," Sneers replied, his shoulders slumping down in sadness. "They came here once to visit, but then moved on. They, uh... It was just hard after-after-"

"After everything in Ba Sing Se," said a girl, Chance, who had been sitting next to Katara. "They wanted more from life than to fight. Losing Jet was tough for all of us, but I guess that was all that they could take. We all understand. If they're happy, then we're happy."

"That's good news," Aang said sympathetically. "And _are _you guys doing alright? Can we help at all?"

"Ha," Sneers laughed. "We're doing just fine. We have our ups and downs, but we make it through. We're lost members-Jet, Longshot, Smellerbee; The Duke and Pipsqueak took off after the war ended too, saying there was nothing else to fight for-and besides Jet, I'm sure that hundreds of us have died in battle, but we don't forget them."

Each warrior looked to his plate then, in honor of the dead. With so many losses, it almost seemed unfair to be breathing right now.

"Well," Sokka cleared his throat, ready to break the uncomfortable silence. "We're all just glad that you guys made it here. What do you all do now that the war's over?"

Sneers folded his hands, regaining his tough composure. "Just keep things in line, mostly. I mean, there isn't much else to do. We try not to get too hostile-that's actually why the Freedom Fighters split in the first place. Mostly we're all here because we don't have anywhere else to go, and don't want to leave each other. For those of us that found some place better - well, good for them."

"Well I think that's great," Suki chimed in, and Sokka put his arm around her. "All of us stuck together too - we're a family."

At that Sneers smiled warmly. "So are we. That does remind me, though; what are you guys doing around here?"

"Well," Aang began, "since the end of the war, things have gotten a lot better-"

"You said yourselves that there's really nothing to fight anymore," Sokka contributed, and Aang nodded in acknowledgment.

"Right," the Avatar agreed, "but the world is still broken. Just ending a war isn't enough to undo one hundred years of pain and death - we can't change the way that the world looks at the Fire Nation, or the way that the Fire Nation looks at them for that matter, with a world so divided."

Sneers considered this for a moment, his eyes glancing upward as he thought deeply. With a finger on his chin, he finally said "...And you plan to change that?"

"_No_, we plan to leave it that way," Toph said sarcastically, opening her mouth for the first time since dinner had been served. She felt a jab in her side from Sokka's elbow and disclosed any further comments of that nature. For having survived this long on their own, these people didn't seem particularly bright to Toph. How they managed to look after themselves for this long was beyond her. Perhaps, she considered, they were more physically intelligent than mentally; these structures had to be pretty well-made to withstand so much traffic, and obviously they were all good at fighting. Still, it struck her as a bit odd altogether. By the time she refocused her thoughts in the conversation taking place, Aang was wrapping up his synopsis of their plan.

"...if they see that people are willing to change-or at least to try-then maybe they'll see that we're all capable of it. We just want to give them a place to come together as one."

A wide smile spread across Sneers' face. "That sounds damn nice, Avatar. I don't suppose you'd need any help with surveillance or anything like that, hm?"

Beside Toph, Sokka stifled a laugh. "You realize that you'd be looking out for firebenders too, right?"

This time it was Toph who elbowed him, grumbling, "And you think I need to watch my mouth?"

Aang shook his head at his friend. "I think what Sokka's trying to say is that as long as you could show fairness to everyone, we'd definitely consider having help from you guys."

"I think we could handle it," Sneers told them. "I promise that things wouldn't get corrupt."

The truth of the matter was that they would need as much help as possible. This city was being grown like a plant: out of nothing but the ground it was being formed on. They had no system of government, no plan B - just each other and whoever they picked up along the way. It was debatable whether the city would rise at all. Most doubtful of the group was Aang, but more than anyone else he wanted it. This wasn't just about him; it was about those who had given up their lives during the war, those whose lives had been taken away, those who had suffered loss, and his people who he still strove to honor with each day. He had to do this right, or he would bring honor to no one.

* * *

"Thanks again, Sneers. We'll be in touch," Aang pledged, daring to hug the hefty warrior when it was time to leave. Darkness had long fallen, and by now they all knew that they would be in for a tiring day tomorrow.

"You do that. Have a safe trip, and thanks for stopping by."

The forest looked a lot different without the light of day. The simple and beautiful trees became clawed towers, blanketing uniformed darkness that made it difficult to discern direction. One could easily get lost, so each stuck closely to the side of his neighbor, resulting in a pod that moved as one.

"Just stay by me," Toph instructed; she knew exactly where they were going. Even the vast dark of night made no difference in the way that Toph saw things. Just a few hundred yards away sat Appa and Momo and the rest of the camp, idly waiting for their return. "Chill out, guys. Your hearts are beating like you're staring into the eyes of a giant komodo rhino - which is really next to nothing compared to the things we've all faced."

"Yeah, well you don't have to see how creepy this place looks at night," Sokka whined, holding Suki closer to himself - although not for her protection.

"Aw," Toph patronized, grinning to herself because no one could see, "is little Sokka scared?"

A grumbled _hmph_ came from Sokka. "Come on, Toph, knock it-"

"Don't worry," Toph carried on, and felt accomplishment swell in her chest when even Suki began to giggle under her breath. "The tiny blind girl will protect you."

A few stammered words were the only response provided before Sokka gave up trying to argue. Within a few seconds of silence, everyone's thoughts drifted to the moment when they could finally close their eyes and sleep; today had been long, but tomorrow would be longer. By the time they reached camp, ten pairs of feet were trudging and dragging, and five bodies were ready to shut down for the remainder of the night. Each went to their separate quarters, barely uttering a goodnight.

"Rest up, guys," came Aang's tired call. "Tomorrow, we reach the new city."

_The new city_, Toph echoed, her mind drowsy as she thought over the idea, wondering what great adventures could come from it.

* * *

**Ugh, I promised myself that I would stop doing this. I really wanted them to arrive at the grounds for Republic City in this chapter, but the chapter was getting long, and it was taking me a long time just to write this much, so I decided it was best to wrap it up for now (it could have to do that I wrote the end late at night right before going to bed). The good news is that there shouldn't be anymore waiting. The gang will reach the city in the next chapter, and everything will finally begin.**

**I will defend myself, though, in saying that I felt that everything I wrote into this was necessary and important. I didn't want to skip over reality to get to the more exciting things. Besides, this kind of thing helps to build character. **

**I do apologize for the time that it took to upload this. I really was working with every spare second that I had (the problem is my lack of spare seconds...). ALSO! I noticed that in the process of uploading the preface and chapter 1, some of my (as a writer I cringe at this lack of grammatical knowledge for names) big dashes were turned to little dashes, which I hope to have prevented from happening this time because it was annoying the crap out of me to see my words connected where they shouldn't be.**

**Boy, can I rant. **

**-ZuEra**

**PS - Guess who comes next chapter?**


	4. The New City

_The New City_

_"We're here! We're here!"_

The murmurs of excitement woke Toph from her afternoon nap, and at first she had the urge to shoo everyone away, or - more realistically - yell at them until they quieted down. However, once the words of the others made the long journey to her brain for registration, she came to quite quickly.

"Finally," she whispered, half-bitter from the ride and half-excited for what would come next.

As the giant bison swooped down for a landing, the team was greeted by Firelord Zuko and his small council who stood nobly behind him. The Firelord, however, waved freely at his friends. Having been here for nearly a week in advance, he was not only grateful to be reunited, but also to have company besides that of stuffy government officials (try as he might, he could not seem to conform to them). Katara leaped off of Appa to hug him, stumbling through her landing into his arms.

"Katara," he laughed lightly at her and accepted her embrace. He went on to hug each of the others, which was surprising to Toph because as far as she had observed, Zuko had never been the hugging type. He stopped in front of her and folded his arms. "Toph."

"How's it going, Sparky?" Toph asked, blowing her bangs out of her face as if she was uninterested. When she didn't offer, the Firelord yanked her into his arms, and after a moment's squirm she gave in and hugged him back. Although she'd never admit to it, Toph had grown to enjoy the time she spent with Zuko. He seemed, in a way, like an older brother to her - an awkward, frequently-cranky older brother. When he released her from the hug, she went so far as to punch him in the arm, raising some alarm from the royal guards.

"I assume you had safe travel," Zuko said, addressing them all.

"Yeah," Toph replied. "Beyond the several times when Sokka nearly killed us with his 'jokes', we were completely safe."

"Shush, Toph," Katara scolded. "Our trip was fine. We actually got here earlier than expected."

From behind Zuko, a lean man with a long beard waved his hands. Frail as he was, he managed to squeeze through them and scurried to the center of attention. It was quite apparent that he was one of the council members that Zuko had so-wisely decided to bring along. He could feel already that he would come to regret the decision and in the back of his mind began making plans on how to send them all back to the capitol.

"Being here early, might we get started now?" he asked, his voice nasally and his brows creasing.

Zuko cleared his throat, and when he spoke his voice portrayed a tone of authority (one that didn't quite suit him). "As far as the official planning, we'll save that for tomorrow. The Avatar and his friends have had a long journey and deserve some time to rest and explore."

"Ha, explore what? There's nothing here but a bunch of tents and dirt," Toph remarked, and Zuko nodded in her direction, shooing away the councilman.

"True, but it's for the best that you get familiar with the area. Believe it or not, it will come in handy as we design the buildings and structures of the city itself."

The idea seemed somewhat foolish to Toph, but if Zuko had it in his mind that it needed to be done, she would humor him. After all, she was never in opposition to sinking her feet into a fresh pile of dirt, which, essentially, was the soul foundation of this place right now.

"Come on, Sugar Queen," Toph demanded, walking off. "You're with me. Let's go 'explore'."

The land seemed to stretch forever, and Toph wondered how much of it was at their expense. She envisioned a city as big as Ba Sing Se, and twice as amazing (or maybe a few times more, she considered, taking into account how awful that place was), with regal structures and no divisions. It would have to be a beautiful city if they wanted people to cast aside their prejudices and move here. Everyone else seemed to be fairly optimistic on the subject, but she wasn't so sure. In fact, she didn't completely buy the Freedom Fighters' promise to be unbiased if they were here, and truthfully she couldn't blame them. From what she'd heard, each of them had a story that started with tragedy and ended with hatred towards the Fire Nation; even if they intended to be fair, it just wasn't going to happen.

"You alright, Toph?" Katara asked, observing the quiet demeanor of her friend. It wasn't often that Toph was in the mood to talk, but on those rare occasions they were usually alone like this.

Toph sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Just thinking through this whole 'city' thing. What if it doesn't work?"

"It'll work," Katara reassured, placing a hand on Toph's shoulder. "We know what we're doing."

Toph shook off Katara's hand. "You can cut the act, Katara. We _don't _know what we're doing. Aang's gonna let a bunch of forest terrors run the security? They'll kill all the Firebenders! We need _real _order - we need to think realistically. This isn't just for fun."

The last person that Katara ever expected to see stressed over this situation was Toph - Toph, who was so easy-going and sure of herself - Toph, who hadn't even flinched thus far. Her posture said it all, though: tensed shoulders, balled fists and a tight jawline with a face that was turned towards the ground; Toph was very serious about this. Knowing that the only way to calm her friend down was to hear her out, Katara folded her arms.

"Alright, what would you suggest then?"

"I - I don't know, okay?" Until now, she hadn't given any thought to what a more logical solution would be. Perhaps it was unfair of her to be so critical when she didn't have any ideas of her own. Defeated, Toph sank to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest and digging her fingers deep into the ground. "I mean really, Katara, how are we going to do this?"

"You've seen already, Toph: we're not alone in this. There are so many people who are willing to help." Katara sat down next to Toph, offering her hand, which Toph reluctantly took. Giving it a squeeze, Katara continued. "People are practically lining up to help."

From her forehead, Toph felt her long bangs tickling her face. Frustrated, she blew them up, only to have them flop back in their same place. "Don't patronize me."

"Oh please," Katara replied, standing and pulling Toph up with her. They began heading back towards the others; the sun was beginning to sink, turning the sky orange like the gourds in the Earth Kingdom countryside. It would be dinner time soon enough, so it was best that they returned. Trying to focus on the conversation rather than her stomach, Katara added "I mean it, though. Remember Teo?"

Off the top of her head, it didn't ring a bell. "Teo?"

"From the invasion. He came with his father, the mechanist, and then with us to the Western Air Temple."

In her mind, Toph ran through the names and footsteps that she knew from that time, and when she came to Teo, she couldn't remember any specific interaction, although she had faint memories. "The wheelchair kid?"

Katara rolled her eyes. "Yes, he's in a wheelchair. Anyway, he and his father agreed to come help with the development of the city. The mechanist will be a huge help with the building process. I think they arrived here last night, actually."

"That's nice," Toph said, quieting now that they were nearing the rest of the group.

"Yes, but you might want to consider finding a different nickname for him than 'wheelchair kid',"

The two had never really interacted, though, and Toph didn't know much more about him than that. One thing that she specifically remembered was how annoying his wheelchair felt to her feet. It made such rough and unsteady vibrations, making her skin crawl. That had been a good part of the reason that she'd never talked to him; she couldn't stand to be around him. It was something she could never get past. Just as she was able to push the memory of that out of her mind, she felt it approaching her.

"Oh gosh," she whispered, grimacing beneath the shield of black hair that - thankfully - covered her face. "There it is."

"Hey! Katara!" Teo called, wheeling quickly in their direction. "Aang told me I'd find you guys here."

"Hi, Teo," Katara greeted, bending to hug him. "How have you been? Is your father here too?"

"Of course," Teo nodded. "We've been great. How have the two of you been?"

"Oh, good," Katara replied, shrugging innocently. "We definitely had a long trip, though."

Teo chuckled. "So I've heard. It's definitely not a walk down the street to get here, is it?"

"Definitely not," Toph agreed, shifting her weight to a less-guarded position.

"But hey, we're here now," he pointed out positively, pointing with his index finger at nothing particular. "Now we can get started on the real work."

_The real work_. Toph didn't like the way that he said it so simply - as if it would be easy. They stood here in the middle of a fifty-mile-mud-puddle, and he thought this was going to be a quick job? Well, he was certainly in for a wake-up call. There was much to do. She would have given him her two-cents, but Teo just kept going on about how wonderful the city was going to be, and what an "honor" it was for him to have the opportunity to take part in it. Were she back in their home at Ba Sing Se, she would have gone into a different room to block out the disturbance, but there were no rooms here. It was possible that the root of her bad mood lay in that fact: she'd been stuck around everyone for the last few days with nowhere to escape to, and she hadn't had the chance to channel her feelings into her bending either. Here she was, though, surrounded by nothing _but _earth - earth that was just waiting to be shaped and broken by her fists. If she could just get away now...

"Excuse me," Toph interrupted, cutting off Teo mid-sentence as she walked off on her own. Even as she increased the distance between them, she felt the scraping feeling of Teo's wheelchair as he readjusted to face Katara.

"Is she okay?" she heard him ask faintly and scoffed at him.

"Just fine," she called in a matter-of-fact tone over her shoulder and felt Katara shake her head. From there, she ventured off (probably too far) away from her friends and all of the tents and things around camp until she found the perfect ground. Feeling the earth beneath her feet, Toph took a deep breath, bringing to mind all of her stresses and worries. With each stomp to the ground she focused on a different problem.

One stomp - so many people, and no way to escape from them. She loved her friends, but it was hard for her to be around them so constantly. Their personalities were all so diverse, and she always felt like she especially didn't mix with them. Yes, it was her own doing, but she didn't want to pretend she was like them. All it took to get rid of these negative emotions was to have some alone time or to earthbend (all of the fighting they'd done during the war had - believe it or not - been a great help to her since she'd been stuck around everyone for so long). Now that they were on the ground again, however, this problem could begin to fade away. She had the solution already and was taking part in it. As long as she had a free minute to vent to the earth, she would be okay.

Toph took a deep breath and smashed her heel into the ground, punching her fist forward; the ground cracked in a rigid line before it shook and split a boulder in half twenty feet away from her. This city. She was excited to be here, but she felt so overwhelmed. Facing it head-on, it seemed impossible. She could pretend all she liked that she was ever-confident and capable of anything, but what went on inside of her was a whole different story. For as long as she could remember, she'd been undermining authority, breaking rules and doing everything she could to fight against some sort of system; how could she turn around now and _become _the system? She didn't know how to do that and the others didn't either. People would be putting their trust in them because she'd helped to win the war, but this was nothing of that sort. As a team, they were good at fighting for peace, but maintaining it in a city full of former-enemies? It just seemed like an unrealistic expectation. When the idea had been brought up for the first time (and for the next several times after that) she'd been all for it. Even now, if anyone but Katara asked her, she'd probably brush off her shoulders, hold her head high and proclaim that if they could win a war on their own, they could definitely do this. _"Fake it 'til you make it" _Aang often said, so Toph told herself what she now knew to be untrue.

_If we can win a war on our own, we can definitely do this._

She would tell herself that until she believed it. They weren't dumb - they were very intelligent, actually. How hard could it be to run a city? If Zuko was in charge of a whole country and managed not to run it into the ground, then just maybe the whole lot of them could handle this. How hard could it really be? They had five smart minds - plus Sokka - to contribute knowledge and prospective on this; the more she thought about it, the more logical it seemed to say that they really couldn't fail.

And then there was the subject of her loneliness; Toph pounded her fist into the earth, and it shifted and rose and fell like a ripple in water. This was the hardest thing for her to accept because she knew that it would never go away. She could convince herself all she wanted that the city would be fine, and she could earthbend her bad moods away, but this problem was one that she couldn't sugarcoat or deny because she faced it everyday around all the love that seemed to sprout up so effortlessly with her friends. They made it look easy, as if the feeling just hits and spreads and connects, but Toph had found out a great many times that it was quite different. She didn't love anyone - not that way at least. One minute it would seem foolish and weak, but the next she was just dying to feel it. What would it be like to be as happy as Aang and Katara, or Sokka and Suki? She wanted to feel that happiness - she wanted to find someone who made her laugh and smile, someone who she could wake up for, someone who she could fall asleep with the way she'd felt the others do so many times. She wanted to love someone so intensely that she'd die for them if she needed to. Where was her soul-mate? Where was the boy that would drive her crazy? It didn't make sense for her to be here beating into the earth so full of anger and sadness over someone who she didn't even know. She'd never met anyone who really caught her attention, never had any real heartbreak (because as far as she was concerned, this didn't count as heartbreak, even though the feeling had to be just as bad), never had any romantic experience, so why was she so hung up on this? She was still young, true, barely older than fourteen, but she felt very sure that she wasn't going to change much - thoughts like that made her wonder if she would be alone forever. If she was lucky, she'd just grow to love that idea.

Settling her body and breathing down, Toph folded her fist to the palm of her hand, closing her eyes and concentrating.

_Now, _she told herself, _let it all go._

She exhaled, breathing out all the bad and inhaling calmness and serenity. Now that things weren't so bottled up, she could go back to her friends as a renewed girl - a girl who would hopefully be less cranky.

* * *

The walk away from the camp had seemed much shorter; coming back with a cleared mind left her only able to focus on the distance. To speed up the process, she'd decided to earth-skate back, but even then it had seemed like a long way. When she finally found her way back to the forest of tents and campfires, she paused, taking one last moment for herself; she'd get hell for running off like that. Sure, she could have given a little warning and been more polite about it, but she knew that everyone would rather her do that than have her snap and explode. Besides, they should all have known by now that she did what she wanted.

Suddenly her hairs stood on end and her face twisted into a mangled expression. It was that wheelchair. Of course he'd spotted her - of all people.

"Hey, Toph!" Teo called, wheeling towards her. "Where have you been?"

Toph sighed, taking a step forward only for Teo to move with her. Trapped, she sighed. "What's it to you?"

Teo paused, stunned by the harshness of her voice. "Well - nothing, I guess. Everyone was just really worried."

"Well, they didn't need to be," she replied, and again tried to leave him. Again, though, he followed her.

"What were you doing out there anyways?" he asked curiously, and Toph began to feel agitated.

"Nothing."

Amused, he laughed lightly. "Nothing? Seems like a lot of effort to go off that way just to do nothing. Sometimes I like to go off and just look at how beautiful everything is - is that what you were doing? Sightseeing?"

"Wow," Toph said, elongating the o's in the word. No longer caring if she seemed rude, she pushed past the boy, feeling her fists clench tightly. "That's _very _funny."

The spirited fifteen-year-old boy watched after her as she stormed off, trying to figure out what he could have possibly said to offend her in such a way. He went through their conversation once in his head, and then a second time, but couldn't think of anything that was distinctively wrong. Still, as his eyes followed her, he found his lips curling into a smirk. Funny girl, he noted. In the time they'd spent together at the Western Air Temple over a year ago he'd known well that she could be rather high-strung, but he'd never have guessed she'd be like this. She was, in a word, fascinating. He decided that he'd like to learn more about her - especially if it meant finding out what he'd said to make her get so upset. His emotions were stuck in a strange mix of embarrassment and curiosity - after all, it wasn't too often that someone got mad at him; he always tried his best to be kind and make people happy, and usually that was enough.

Realizing that he'd just been sitting here idly, he rolled himself back into the plethora of tents, peeking into his father's to say goodnight, and then getting settled in his own. He figured that he'd better apologize to Toph for whatever he'd done, but sleep sounded so sweet right now. Come tomorrow he'd do it, and maybe between now and then he'd figure out what exactly he was sorry for.

_Funny girl_, he thought again as he closed his eyes and drifted off.

* * *

**Hello, friends (: I first want to thank the lovely soul that reviewed my story. Yes, just one, but what can I expect when writing a less-popular shipping? Thanks to those who have taken the time to follow my story as well (: Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my short but (hopefully) successful chapter. I was pretty disappointed with the length, being about half the size of my last whopper-chapter, but hey, when it's done it's done, right? Besides, I felt like it was a pretty good chapter; we finally met up with Teo. As you can all see, Toph is just beside herself with love for him (yes, that's sarcasm). However, she does seem to have caught his attention.**

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and will check back for the next one. If you guys have any suggestions or comments, I'd love to hear them (: **

**xoxo-ZuEra**


	5. Discoveries

Discoveries

The light from the morning sun couldn't manage to seep through the thick canvas tent that the noblemen had given Teo to sleep in, but still he awoke on schedule. He went along his morning routine, dressing and pulling on his gloves, situating himself in his wheelchair, and pulling back the tent flap to face the day. As he had done for each of the few days that he'd been here, he flinched at the brightness of the sun. Until his eyes got used to the change, they watered despite his efforts to contain the tears. One thing that was different, however, from his other days here, today Teo was waking up with friends to spend time with. Keeping that positive thought in mind, he wiped away the defiant tears and headed for the water's edge.

The city grounds sat just off the edge of the great ocean; it wasn't too far of a trek from where the camp had been set up. Teo had found favor of this specific place off the coast. It seemed that the sun glinted off the water so magnificently that the area was just _meant_ for a civilization of some sort. The combination of the grassy hills and the sandy beach against the horizon (at any time of day) was breath-taking. It was here that he chose to begin his mornings, leaning carefully to dip his hand into the clear water and splash it across his face to awaken his senses, and here that he also chose to end his day. In the night previous he had been on his way back from this very spot when he ran into Toph. Perhaps once the others were up he could find out more about what he'd done to upset Toph so severely. For now, though, because the sun was just rising, he would sit here and take some time for himself.

He's always loved a good sunrise, but this one was particularly spectacular. Every shade of red and pink seemed to be displayed in this sky. His father had told him that before they made the move to the Northern Air Temple - before the flood that destroyed everything - there was quite the view (Teo imagined it would have been something like this) from their village. Sometimes, usually unexpectedly, Teo could remember the sunsets, and watching them with his mother. He never let those thoughts get too far, though. It was easier to forget. Teo liked to think of himself as a positive person, so rather than focusing on the pain, he chose to focus on the bright side of things. He liked to make other people smile and feel happy. He liked to go off on adventures and appreciate the world around him. He liked laughing and talking, and he also liked listening. There was something so rewarding about closing his own mouth and listening to what others had to say. Whether the words were those of sadness, anger, fear or happiness, Teo enjoyed hearing peoples' thoughts. If he could, he would offer advice to the best of his ability when it was needed - or, likewise, words of encouragement. When nothing could be said, though, he liked to just listen. Sometimes he liked that better than saying anything in the first place.

Soon enough, although he could have sat there happily for much longer, Teo decided that he best get back to the city grounds because the others would be waking up soon. As he'd suspected, when he arrived back, the air smelled of fresh seal-jerky over a fire and the once-silent camp was buzzing with chatter and excitement. It took him a few minutes to seep through the Fire Nation officials - many whom stumbled and tripped over him, not bothering to apologize - and find his friends. Knowing them well, though, he followed the scent of the jerky until he found Sokka and Aang around a fire.

"Hey, guys," Teo greeted as he rolled up. And replied likewise, and Sokka nodded in acknowledgment through a mouth of meat. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Pretty good, thanks. My head's definitely spinning a little, though with the first plans beginning today," Aang told him. Teo was about to reply when Aang opened his mouth again. "So where'd you go last night? You never came back."

At the time he hadn't given it much thought, although it would have been courteous to check back in and wish everyone else a good night. He'd been quite distracted, though, after his conversation with Toph. He'd gone off to see the sunset and lost track of time, and beyond that had met up with Toph and then without thinking had gone to bed.

"I just got caught up in the scenery; there's some pretty neat stuff out there. By the time I came back I was ready to turn in for the night," Teo explained, shrugging his shoulders casually.

"I wish I'd had the chance to see more of it," Aang agreed. "I probably won't have much time today, though, with all the meetings and stuff."

"We found Toph, by the way," Sokka added, and when Teo looked up he found a piece of seal-jerky being offered to him. He took it slowly and bit into it, savoring the it's juicy, salty flavor as he chewed. Before taking another bite, he nodded in Sokka's direction.

"Yeah, I actually saw her as I was coming back," Teo said, and then paused laughing uncertainly. "That was a disaster."

A surge of panic flowed through Teo's veins as Aang and Sokka exchanged worried expressions. Sokka leaned backwards, as if to inspect him with narrowed eyes as Teo shifted uncomfortably. Aang, on the other hand, leaned towards him.

"A disaster?" the Avatar repeated. "What happened?"

"And more importantly," Sokka cut in, "how are you going to fix it? You don't want _Toph_ of all people holding a grudge against you."

Teo sighed, folding his hands together. "The thing is, I don't know what I did. I was just having a conversation, not that she seemed all that interested, but then she got really mad at me - out of nowhere. I don't know what happened."

"Toph's a complicated person," Sokka assured. "Anything could set her off."

"But _what_?" Teo besought. "It wasn't just a bad mood, Sokka - well, not when she got really mad at least. We were just talking and then she said 'wow, very funny' and stomped off."

"Well wait," Aang stopped him. "What'd you say?"

"Just - just regular conversation," Teo defended. "I asked what she'd been up to. I asked if she was out sightseeing."

At that Aang and Sokka shared an understanding _oooooooh_, leaving Teo in utter confusion.

"That explains it," Aang said, a wide smile now on his face.

"What would make you think to say that to Toph?" Sokka postulated. "She's _blind_."

Teo could have flipped himself out of his wheelchair. "She's what?"

"Yeah," Aang confirmed. "Toph's blind. Didn't you know that?"

"No!" Teo exclaimed. "No, I didn't! No wonder she got so mad at me."

"Yeah, no wonder," Sokka teased. "Seriously, though, after all this time, how did you not know that?"

"How could I have?" Teo justified. "She walks around so normally - she fought and won battles and people _feared _her. Nothing about that screams 'blind'."

He'd seen her fight before; she was incredible. It was nearly impossible to believe that through all of those times she hadn't been able to see a thing. How did she know when her opponents were going to strike? She not only was good at attacking, but she was practically untouchable with her perfect defenses. It seemed unreal.

"It's her earthbending, Teo," Aang told him. "She uses it to feel the vibrations of things and people, so it's just like she can see - she can see things better than you and I can."

"That's - that's amazing," Teo awed. "I never in a million years would have guessed that about her. Man, she must hate me."

"Most likely," Sokka said bluntly, and Aang rolled his eyes at him.

"Don't worry about it. Toph's just a little rough around the edges. She actually hated me too when we first met - couldn't stand me," Aand revealed, and when Teo thought hard enough about it he could see it as a possibility. Aang and Toph were completely different.

"And that's nothing compared to how she and Katara started out," Sokka pointed out, causing the Avatar snicker. "That was just crazy. Just a tip, Teo: if you ever want to bring an end to the world, get Toph and my sister fighting."

"They fought? Really?" Teo considered this for a moment, but really couldn't imagine it. Although the two had their differences, they also shared a very apparent bond. "They seem like best friends to me."

"Exactly," Aang concluded. "So don't worry about first impressions; when it comes to Toph, they really don't matter. Just apologize and things should get better."

"Let's hope," Teo sighed, turning his chair and beginning to push away. "I hate having 'enemies'."

By this time, things had calmed down quite a bit around camp, and Teo was able to make his way through without much trouble. Still, he was anxious for the day that the streets here would be paved to make transportation less difficult for him. The ground now was covered mostly in loose, dry dirt with a sandy texture. His wheels had a tendency to sink down into it and he had to put a lot more strength towards his efforts to move. The first time he'd rolled across grass (something that they didn't have anywhere around the Northern Air Temple) he'd thought that he would never get anywhere; he'd always managed, of course, and he would most likely get used to this as well. In fact, this whole journey had taken some getting used to. It wasn't often that Teo left his home, and he always seemed to have trouble readjusting. Things weren't quite as he had expected either, with such great crowds of government officials - most of which took no notice or care for him - running about, waving scrolls in the air and calling for the Firelord. Imagining this whole thing (something Teo had done for quite a while), he'd always pictured a messy hodgepodge of tents, just he and his friends as he'd so enjoyed before. Rather than that, though, he found himself in perfectly structured rows of large, roomy canvas-castles (tents, yes, but bigger than he'd ever seen, although he wouldn't complain about that aspect) that seemed to have no vanishing point. The musty smell of smoke, on the bright side, was one that Teo was very familiar with. It reminded him of the scent that the machines back home gave off, although it was possible that the campfire smoke was cleaner than that of the Northern Air Temple. Still, it was a comfort to him nonetheless.

With such a big area, he wondered if he would ever find his father. Really, it shouldn't have been such a struggle. To find a man with his father's resemblance was quite an accomplishment. Through all of the orderly Fire Nation council members with perfectly trimmed hair and silk robes, his father should have stuck out like a sore thumb. When eventually Teo did find him, the Mechanist was rummaging through his things chaotically, shuffling papers and setting things aside.

"Dad? What are you doing?" Teo asked, causing his father to jump and drop the scrolls that he had gathered. Teo quickly leaned over the arm of his chair to help pick up the mess.

With his things recollected, the Mechanist finally explained. "Today's meeting starts in just ten minutes and I've lost my architectural plans. I know I had them somewhere..."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Teo offered, but his father shook his head.

"You just go on without me, alright? You know the basic ideas for our plans. I'll catch up as soon as I find the papers."

Teo cocked his head to the side. "I'm allowed at the meeting?"

"Well of course," the Mechanist answered. "You're just as much a part of this as I am, son. Go on, now, and please be sure to explain my absence."

The idea of attending this meeting was extremely exciting. To do so was a privilege - a great privilege - that he hadn't expected. These things were for the Avatar, or for the Firelord, or for the war heroes, but not for Teo. He hadn't done anything all that significant. Perhaps, though, he had something that he could give to progress this whole process. All of that pride, unfortunately, melted away as he made his entrance into the meeting tent and he met Toph's milky, blind eyes. She couldn't see him, he knew, but it was certain that the moment she'd felt him she'd intentionally faced in his direction to send him the coldest glare.

"Why is he here?" he heard her whisper to Katara, who replied too quietly for him to hear.

"Toph," Katara chided, "he heard that; I can tell."

"I'm being serious, though," Toph replied - a little louder than she usually might have in hopes to cover up her bad manners. Teo didn't so much as twitch, causing Toph to drum her fingers in frustration. She considered that perhaps now was not the time for holding grudges - once this meeting was over, of course, all of that could resume. For now, she would have to remain civil.

Around the table sat each of them except for the young Firelord, who was absent yet. When finally the heavy tent flaps opened, a train of four officials filed in with Zuko at their rear, fully robed and incredibly uncomfortable as he was still not used to the many layers of thick material draped over him. As he sat down at the head of the table, opposite of Aang, he noticed the shifting eyes of his scribes and advisers. Each of the men - left to stand with the many people who had taken their seats - stared shamelessly at each individual in the room, going so far as to narrow their eyes at the Avatar himself.

"Such shabby garments are not appropriate for official business," one of them mumbled to Zuko, causing the others to look up in discomfort. Toph folded her arms, and observed as Katara and Suki shifted their weight and Sokka held up his finger in objection.

Zuko sighed and bowed his head. When he was silent the officials leaned towards him in concern, reaching out their hands to touch him but not daring to do so.

"Thank you, gentlemen, but you are all dismissed," Zuko finally said politely, and immediately the calm and collected men began babbling apologies and declaring that it would be unheard of to leave the Firelord on his own.

"My Lord," the head official stammered. "As your head council member I must kindly refuse leave you here."

Zuko held up his hand to silence the man. "It won't be necessary. Please pack up all of the extra tents besides those of my fellow city council members. Fire Nation officials will not be needed here, as this is not a project exclusive to the Fire Nation."

"But, your Highness-"

"Please," Zuko asserted, half commanding, half pleading. "These are my friends. We've always managed to take care of ourselves."

Two of the other men approached their leader, still in shock, and tugged on the long sleeve of his rob. Pulled from his trance, he bowed to the Firelord and began to lead his men out, stopping to bow this time to the Avatar as well. When they were finally left alone they were all silent, glancing about at each other. Finally Zuko said "I apologize, friends, for their behavior."

"Zuko?" Sokka said from the far-end of the table, catching his friend's attention. "They're gone; you don't have to talk like that anymore."

"Oh," Zuko said in realization. "Right. Well I'm glad that's over."

He reached to the top of his head and pulled the pin from his crown, releasing the raven-colored hair that had been contained in a bun. Feeling much more comfortable, now, he ran his fingers through his hair and gave his head a small shake.

"Yeah," Toph agreed. "Those stuffy, old guys wreaked of confinement."

"They certainly did," Aang chimed in, "but let's get down to business. Wow; where to start?"

There were so many things to cover: construction, laws, rulers, goals - how could they even begin?

Katara cleared her throat. "How about we start with what exactly we want the city to stand for. I mean, we're here for a cause so - what is it?"

"We're here to show the world that there can not only be peace, but that together we can live as one without conflict," Aang contributed, and Teo considered how lovely that sounded. He had never known a world without prejudice. There was a time when he had been judgmental himself, but now more than anything he wanted to experience life with new eyes. He wanted to see the good in the Fire Nation people.

"But how are we going to do that?" Toph asked in response to Aang's question. She leaned her elbows on the table, blowing her bangs out of her face and had a certain vibe of crankiness about her. "I mean, these people have kind of been at war with each other for a hundred years. The war's been over for a year - almost a year and a half - and we're still hearing about hate crimes and rebellions."

Sokka emitted a sigh. "I'm with Toph on this one. We can't just expect people to-"

"Oh dear! Oh goodness!" came the gruff voice of the Mechanist as he stumbled in, dropping several scrolls in his effort to be quick. "I'm terribly sorry!"

"Dad!" Teo rushed to help retrieve the scrolls and ushered his father to the empty seat next to his. "Did you find everything?"

"It would seem so," his father replied, allowing the scrolls to fall onto the table and roll about. "I apologize for my tardiness. I was trying to find all of my plans and I misplaced them in all of the craziness of unpacking. Please, don't let me interrupt; continue."

"We were just discussing the attitudes of the people," Zuko explained to the Mechanist, "and I have to say that I'm actually not that worried. What's important is that we find the right people. Of course we can't take people who have radical opinions, but think of all the people who _want_ peace."

Everyone was quiet for a moment. From her seat, Toph could feel that Zuko's heartbeat was rapid and that he was very passionate about this. She wondered if he was right. Thinking about it, she realized that over the time that she'd traveled through the world, she's seen more who wanted peace than who craved war. Of course there were many who wanted justice or revenge, but that was something that came from pain and suffering. Katara had been one of those people, but Zuko was able to prove to her that not all Fire Nation people were bad. If Katara could accomplish such a thing, couldn't anyone? It sounded logical.

"There are people out there," Katara said after a few moments. "The question is how we will find them. We can't go out and individually find enough people to fill an entire city. That's not rational."

"Can't we just trust people?" Suki suggested. "All cities have problems, but the Kyoshi Warriors and I will be here to keep things in line."

"Just trust people?" Aang repeated, and then paused. After a few seconds he shook his head hopelessly. "That's easier said than done. I understand that the Kyoshi Warriors are an _amazing_ group of fighters, but we're not talking about fighting a war, here. We want to keep violence at a minimum. You've been awfully quiet, Teo; what do you think we should do?"

Suddenly everyone had turned towards him and was giving him their full attention. Caught off-guard, Teo stuttered. "I - uh - well - It's like Katara said: there's no way to hand-pick people. There's got to be a line of trust - especially if you want the city to trust _you_. I would suggest something like background checks - just taking a look at peoples' pasts and seeing if there's any reason to believe that any harm could come from them."

"There's going to be a lot of people coming here," Sokka frowned. "That's a lot of background checks."

"You gotta do the work to get the reward," Teo shrugged.

Toph smiled to herself; she liked that kind of attitude on a person. So the guy made a rude comment - he still had some positive attributes, apparently. Amused by that fact, Toph crossed her arms and listened intently.

"There's always a chance that something bad could happen," Teo went on, "but you'll keep this city from happening at all if you don't let people in. There's just - there's just a very fine line, I think."

Teo looked to his right when his father spoke up.

"On a similar note to what you're all talking about," the Mechanist said, "there's something that you all should know. I've heard of many incidents lately - a growing number - where hate crimes and such things have been related back to a group of people."

"A group of people? What sort of people?" Zuko questioned. "We've heard of anti-peace crimes occurring, but you're saying that these are all connected?"

"Yes, I believe that they are," the Mechanist confirmed. "Separatists - they want the Four Nations to stay out of balance. I don't know much about them, but I do know that there are a lot of them."

"Well you don't think they'd be stupid enough to come here, do you?" Sokka prodded. "I mean, they wouldn't stand a chance."

To Sokka's left at the end of the table, Aang nodded his head, his face displaying mixed emotions of discouragement and concern. "Sokka, when word of this city gets around - word that it's being created by the Avatar and the Firelord and that its primary purpose is to bring peace - we'll be their top priority."

"Well - well, what are we going to do?" Suki asked quietly, and for a moment everyone was very quiet, looking around at each other with grave eyes. The mood had grown to be quite somber - so somber, in fact, that it even took Toph a moment to snap out of it.

"What's the matter with you guys?" she criticized. "We've won a _war_; we took down this insignificant little guy called Firelord Ozai - yeah, no big deal; we crashed airships and broke out of prisons; we convinced the world that Aang was _dead_! All of that, and you guys are afraid of a little rebellion group? Please."

A sharp silence still dominated the room, but there was a stark difference to what it had been only seconds before. On each face was a layer of shock that quickly pealed back to reveal determination.

"Toph's right," Teo declared, a grin on his face. "We can get past this. Double the security - sleep with one eye open - just don't let your guard down or your attitude."

With that the room burst into excitement, everyone babbling with new-found confidence that they could handle this.

_That's what I like to hear, _Toph thought happily. She often took it upon herself to get everyone's morale back up, and usually her blunt and sarcastic comments got the job done. If Teo ever tried to take any credit for that, of course, she would run his wheelchair up a wall. Although one might guess that Toph took pride in bringing her friends down (which, to be fair, she really did), she also really liked to make them smile. Sure, her sense of humor was a little dark, but it was still effective. Really, though, Toph wasn't concerned about this silly rebellion group. How much damage could they really do? Nobody messed with Team Avatar (oh how Sokka would have danced had he heard her call them that).

"On the subject of construction," the Mechanist called over everyone, catching Toph's attention. Slowly the talking diminished, and the frazzled scientist had everyone's attention. "I have many suggestions."

Before anyone could say a thing, the several scrolls that he'd brought in had been rolled out across the table. Upon them were many well-thought-out drawings, completed on a smaller but still proportionate scale. Huge buildings that looked as if they would scrape the sky covered some of the parchment, while other scrolls showed smaller buildings of equal brilliance. Also included were examples of the work that would make it all happen - the machinery, the technology that the world had yet to know. Teo, himself, marveled at his father's plans. He hadn't seen the final copies of them until now. He noticed, though, that while everyone else leaned forward in excitement to look over the plans, Toph sat uninterested.

_She's blind, doofus_, he reminded himself. He then asked himself what could be done about it. Would she even want his help? Perhaps that was beside the point. If he could just casually throw some details in there...

"Uh, I think it's great that these are all much more advanced than what cities tend to have right now," he blurted. "You never see buildings that tall. It must have a thousand staircases."

"Thirty levels, actually," his father corrected, and Teo felt his face flush. "See? It says right here."

"Yeah, Dad, I can see it."

Nobody seemed to catch on.

* * *

With the extra space from the tents which were well on their way back to the Fire Nation by now, it was much easier to find everyone - and much more difficult to find privacy. These two opposites pried at Teo's mind as he made his way to the blind earthbender, considering that he'd rather have a quiet place to talk to her. To his relief, she sat on her own, poking the dark ashes of a used fire-pit with a stick. The designs that she drew with the stick were nothing but rubbish, being that she couldn't see what she was doing. He wondered, though, if she felt the stick's indentation in the earth - maybe then she could have made something beautiful. Upon his approach, he noticed her body stiffen. From what he could tell, she always had that reaction when he came near; it bothered him. Still, he continued forward until he sat just two feet behind her.

"Hey, Toph. About the other night - I just wanted to say that-"

"Ohh, _there_ you are, Wheelchair Kid," she interrupted with mock-excitement. At this point she turned her head towards him, hoping to meet his eyes. "Where have you been? Were you out running cheerfully through the fields? Or running a race? Or running some errands?"

Teo froze, completely shocked by Toph's words. Trying his best to carry on with the conversation, he refocused himself.

"Okay, uh - that kinda hurt - ouch - but what I really wanted to do was apologize," he jabbered, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly. "See, it was all a big misunderstanding. I didn't realize that you were, or, that you _are_ blind."

Teo bit his lip as Toph crossed her arms and replied pointedly "You didn't know?"

"Well," he began, and stopped to take a breath, hoping to prevent himself from looking a fool. "You just fought so well, and you always took care of yourself, and you were so amazing at everything that you just didn't seem blind."

"Ha," Toph laughed cynically. "I'm guessing that's a compliment?"

Giving up on trying to please this difficult girl, Teo turned his chair around and started heading away. His bones ached with disappointment, but his mind reminded him that he had given a good effort, and some people really did prefer to wallow in negativity. It was a shame, though, because he'd always looked at Toph as a fun, independent girl. This, apparently, was only true some of the time. He figured that now he could go back to his tent and catch a couple more hours of sleep; he still felt very drained. He'd only gotten a few feet, however, before he heard Toph's shrill voice call after him.

"I mean really," she provoked, "I'm the_ Blind Bandit_ for the spirits' sake; how did you not know?"

At an instant halt, Teo glanced carefully over his shoulder as if Toph might see the smile forming on his face.

"I thought it was just a nickname," he called back. "Maybe you should have made it more obvious."

He took off then before she could think of a smart reply. As he did so, the scraping, bumping wheels ruptured her attention once again, filling her entire line of vision with their horrible vibrations. The blind earthbender, although she'd managed to force a smile, still could not take the feeling - or even the sound - of Teo's wheels. It would certainly take some getting used to, she realized, because she couldn't feel a thing besides it.

She was too distracted, in fact, to feel the feet of a stranger creeping around outside of camp – or the feet of the small group of warriors that the stranger was leading straight towards them.

* * *

**Hello, lovelies! First off: oh goodness... When I first uploaded this I forget to add this little note at the end, as well as add the divider in the middle of the chapter. Urgghh**

**Anyway! I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Contrary to what you might believe with how long it took me to upload, I worked extremely hard. I have a musical production this week, so I've been at rehearsals until nine each night, but I promise that every spare moment has gone towards this. **

**In this chapter we see Teo's futile efforts to get on Toph's good side - but, there are positive signs, they're just very dim at the moment... And we also find - aha! - that this story really does have a plot! A rebellion group? Sure sounds like trouble to me. And who's sneaking around the camp? **

**Reviews are always appreciated! Follow if you like! Thanks to the followers and those who just joined, and thank you to the person whose simple review asking me to update prompted a late-night effort**

**xoxo**

**-ZuEra**


	6. The Separatists

The Separatists

Darkness had fallen several hours ago, but it made no difference to Toph. Katara, however, depending on her eyes to see, requested that Toph help her clean up dinner. Reluctantly, Toph agreed, mostly because heavy thoughts weighed on her mind and it was only Katara that she liked to reveal them to. Everyone else had found things to do promptly after the meal ended (most likely to avoid responsibility), so they were here alone, just as Toph needed them to be. As she carried the dishes over to the large pot of water that Katara would use to wash them, she fell silent, as she usually did when she had specific things to talk about. It was easy to talk once she got started - almost impossible to stop, actually - but to begin the conversation was somewhat difficult. Fortunately, Katara caught on and began it for her.

"Is something bothering you, Toph?" Katara prodded, and as usual Toph's first reaction was that of defensiveness.

"Why would you think that?" she asked, turning away from her friend.

Katara sighed. She knew her friend all too well and could tell when negative thoughts were swirling in her head. "You're being a little too quiet. Come on, what's up?"

Handing the plates over to Katara, Toph faltered. "I did something bad."

Pausing, Katara looked up at Toph. What kind of bad thing could Toph had possibly done now? Katara had heard a wide assortment of "bad things" from Toph - from "I put wet bison fur in Sokka's pillow to make it smell bad" all the way to "I gambled so much that I got both of us arrested" - and wondered what it could be this time. It seemed like an odd time to hear such a thing, considering that they were essentially out in the middle of nowhere. Dreading to do so, Katara set the dishes gently in the water and turned to her friend. "What'd you do?"

Toph fidgeted, digging her big toe into the dirt below her and twisting it uncomfortably, searching for the words she needed. "Well, Teo said something really rude to me - or at least I thought he did."

"Oh no," Katara groaned under her breath, but continued listening.

"Turns out he didn't mean it. See, he didn't realize that I was blind - I mean, really, who could blame the poor kid? I'm just so coordinated - so he was talking to me as if I could see, and I took it as a serious insult. I only learned that he didn't know _after _I said some really bad stuff to him."

Seeing the guilt on Toph's face, Katara did her best not to be harsh. It wasn't often that Toph felt remorse for her mistakes, so this must have been pretty serious. "Well, what happened?"

"Ugh," Toph kicked the dirt, causing the ground to rumble a bit. "Can't you just imagine? I feel bad enough as it is. I called him 'Wheelchair Kid', okay? And I made mean, sarcastic jokes about him not being able to walk."

"Toph!" Katara gasped. "How could you do such a terrible thing? And he's been so nice to you..."

"I don't know! Okay? I was just angry and - and stupid," Toph admitted, dropping to the ground and folding her arms. She blew her bangs from her face and grumbled on. "As if that wasn't bad enough, he apologized to me right after and said he didn't know I was blind."

"Oh, _Toph_," Katara cried loudly, smacking her forehead hopelessly. "How could you do that to him? How could you lose control of your temper that way?"

"Let's be real, Sugar Queen, I've never had control of my temper," Toph replied simply, to which Katara had to agree.

"Well, now what?" Katara asked. "You want advice?"

"Advice - something to make me feel better, cuz right now I'm pretty sure I'm the worst person alive."

To pick herself up, Toph reminded herself that Firelord Ozai and Azula, although they were imprisoned, were still alive, so she couldn't possibly be the _worst_.

"It seems pretty simple to me," Katara replied, not looking up from her work now. "Teo apologized to you, and now you should do the same to him. You have to mean it, Toph, and show him that you mean it."

"But, Katara-"

"That probably really affected him, you know," Katara pointed out seriously, and Toph mulled over the possibilities for a moment.

"Fine," she eventually said. "You win."

"It's for the best, Toph."

* * *

The stars in the sky were beautiful. Just barely outside of camp, Teo lay beneath the late-night sky - wheelchair cast aside just a few feet away. It was easy to crawl out of the contraption, but much more difficult to work his way back in. Fortunately, he had all the time in the world here. He sighed happily, taking a moment to close his eyes and position his hands comfortably behind his head. What a beautiful night. Today had been somewhat rough, but it seemed that not of it mattered now. In the serenity of nature (although his friends were quite nearby), he was able to reflect positively on things.

Sure, he'd pretty much failed at making friends with Toph - again - but at least she seemed to soften up a bit. That is, after she said those other things. He was able to ignore that though, and brush it off as a simple exertion of anger. She probably hadn't meant any of it. He'd said his fair share of hurtful things in his time (mostly to his father, which he regretted strongly) and not meant a bit of it. Usually those things were hard to take back, and not easily forgiven, but Teo strove to be understanding of peoples' flaws, which applied even in situations like these, when hurtful things were said. It had, at first, hurt him a bit deeply. He'd been glad that Toph had poked some fun at him, and gladly played along, but after he'd gone, a dark cloud seemed to hover over his head, reminding him that he wasn't invincible. Part of the pain came from the fact that when he thought about being in that chair, he thought about losing his mother. Sometimes, though, it just hurt to think about the fact that he was different. Really, he liked that he was in a wheelchair; it'd made him stronger and a better person. There were times, however, when he felt it'd be nice to just be normal.

"Hey," came the voice that he knew was Toph's. He turned his head to acknowledge her, smiling politely.

"Hi," he replied after a few short seconds. For a moment, Toph just stood there, her blind eyes facing the dark horizon. Finally, she took a few more steps toward him, stopping just beside him. Feeling a bit awkward as he started up at her, Teo decided to give the conversation a nudge. "What's up?"

Toph bit her lip; this wouldn't be easy for her. She'd have much rather turned and run off than stand here with her feet planted, but it was too late for that now. She couldn't slip away as easily as she'd slipped near to him. Her senses awakened when Teo rolled on his side to face her more properly.

_He's out of his wheelchair_, she noticed, and wondered what he might be doing. She figured that he must have been looking at the stars; most seeing people wouldn't lay on the dirty ground for any other reason. He seemed so comfortable, though, and she almost felt guilty for interrupting his time. It was odd, too, to see him like this. How had he maneuvered his way out of the chair? How would he get back in? She'd never considered that he could get out, but here it seemed so natural to him. When Teo cleared his throat uncomfortably, she realized that she still needed to reply.

She began weakly, hoping to organize these thoughts into civilized conversation somewhere down the line. "Alright, so, I know earlier I said some pretty awful-"

Toph's words were cut off by an earth-rattling explosion, it's source not twenty feet away. The ground shook beneath them, and the flash burned brightly enough that Teo's vision clouded over. He shook his head, blinking his eyes several time to shed them of the blurry side-effect.

"The camp!" Toph yelled, running off. Teo scrambled to his chair, pulling himself up. In horror, he watched as the blackened silhouettes of his friends fought back against the mysterious attackers. As if in a nightmare, his hands trembled and refused to cooperate. By the time he'd gotten himself situated, the action back at the site had escalated into extreme measures. Although he couldn't identify faces, he could tell by the number of people that his friends were hopelessly outnumbered. Speeding back as fast as he could, he was caught off guard by a man with two long-swords and a scarf over his chin. His wheelchair failed to stop, and he ducked just barely beneath the sharp blade. He had no way to defend himself, and wheeled anxiously backwards as the man approached him once more. Surely he would have been a goner had the man not suddenly been thrown off his own feet and plunged with a shard of earth.

"There, I saved your life," Toph called, bending over the corpse and retrieving one of the swords that the man had carried. She tossed it to Teo. "Are we even? Good - there's a whole lot more ass to kick."

Toph ran forward, leaving the confused boy to sit for a moment before coming to his senses and charging after her; she had friends to save. From the second that the explosion occurred, Toph had a clear vision of exactly what was going on. The shaking of the ground made everything pristine to her senses, giving her an advantage over the enemies who had to strain with their eyes to see through the smoke and flames. She quickly remembered, however, that her friends also would have to battle the fire in order to see. From what she could feel, everyone seemed to be holding their own, and thus far no one had taken notice of her as she stood in the middle of the action, feeling carefully for anyone in a struggle. A sudden, sharp movement caught her attention; two individuals were in a brawl against each other, one clearly about to claim victory.

_The Mechanist!_ she concluded. She could help him, but in her path were a dozen separate fights, some taking place even between the invading men and - pathetically enough - other invading men. Having no time to waste, Toph cast each enemy aside, springing them effortlessly into the sky with a simple uprising of the earth beneath them. Where her friends stood, she took more care, not wanting to hurt anyone on her side. When she finally reached the Mechanist, he lay on the ground, his only defense a wooden tent-pole that his attacker had taken a heavy slice of just seconds before her arrival. He'd backed up as far as he could go, and found no more space at his expense once he hit the wall of the very tent that he'd stolen his weapon from.

"Hey!" Toph yelled as loud as she could, desperate to stop the hooded attacker who was ready to announce the Mechanist's demise. The hooded man flinched, just barely, at the sound of Toph's voice, but it was all the opportunity that Toph needed to dig her heel into the ground and give a small kick. The man went flying.

"Oh, thank you, thank you so much," the Mechanist panted, accepting Toph's hand to be pulled up. "I thought I was done-for."

"No problem," Toph answered, then nodded towards the remains of the pole. "You might want to find a more suitable weapon than - than whatever that is you've got there."

"Oh, uh, yes," the Mechanist agreed uncomfortably, ducking at a rock as it flew by his head. "It's a tent-pole."

That made sense, considering the sagging tent that she now took notice of. Toph stomped her foot, raising a boulder from the ground and then threw it. "Gotcha. I just couldn't tell; I'm blind - in case you didn't know."

"I recently learned," he replied, wide-eyed at the fact that they were having a conversation in the midst of this chaos.

A series of smaller explosions alerted them that the fight was clearly not over. The bombs seemed to come from nowhere, though, which confused Toph. She couldn't identify a source from them, and it seemed almost as if they were falling right from the sky.

"Bombs away! Look out, Dad!"

Before she could register what exactly was happening, Toph found herself being yanked away and thrown to the ground. Immediately following this gesture was a loud bang and more rattling in the ground. Shortly after this came the feeling of retreating feet, some dragging along the bodies of their lost friends (which Toph felt quite thankful for; she'd never found much fun in taking care of corpses. It was an awkward ordeal, figuring out what to do with them). So quickly, so abruptly, it all ended, and there was silence.

"What _was_ that?" Suki finally asked, resting her hands on her knees and trying to catch her breath.

"Separatists, no doubt," replied the Mechanist without missing a beat. Everyone exchanged somber glances, forced to accept that they really were facing another war of sorts. Fortunately, this "war" was of a much less dangerous nature. However, looking at all the damage that had been done, it was difficult to believe.

"Not that this place looked all that great when we got here," Sokka said, looking at the charred dirt and still smoking plant-life, "but this land really took a beating."

Toph raised her hand, volunteering to speak. "I'm actually more concerned about the bombs that came from nowhere."

"Oh," Teo said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "That was me. I always keep a few extra grenades in my wheelchair's compartment. I threw them from the air."

That didn't make much sense to Toph, who had no knowledge of Teo's flying abilities. However, before she could ask any questions, Zuko groaned, sitting on the ground and putting his head in his hands.

"I _know_ this is going to get back to the capitol," he said. "They're going to be all over me. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to take me away."

"Maybe they won't find out?" Suki offered, but Zuko was unconvinced.

Sokka patted Zuko's shoulder sympathetically, and then walked towards the charred materials, lightly touching the now unidentifiable remains of their belongings. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we should really worry about cleaning this place up."

Looking around at the camp, it was clear to everyone that this would take some work. One moment, things had been perfectly normal - they'd all been having a grand time - and then the next they were facing flames and fighting brutally. Of course this was nothing new to them, but the shock of a fight always seemed to linger for hours even after it was over.

"It looks like most of our tents have been destroyed," Teo noted sadly. "I guess some of us will be sleeping outside from now on."

"Actually," Aang spoke up, "I didn't know that the Fire Nation council was providing tents for us, so I brought a bunch. They're not as big or fancy, but they'll do the job. They're probably still on Appa's saddle. Speaking of which - Appa? Buddy? Where'd you go?"

At some point - most likely early on in the battle - Appa had flown off into the hills. Aang hypothesized that he'd probably taken down a few of their attackers first, and Appa had no problem with accepting the hero-worship. The tents were quickly located, but could not be set up yet, because even with the problem of shelter solved, there was still the dilemma of making the area suitable for living. The ground was coated almost delicately with layers of black and gray ashes. Trying to clean them up by hand would only result in more mess (for the grounds and for themselves). By the time that Aang had managed to channel the ashes carefully away with the wind, the sun had started to peak over the horizon. Rather than groaning and complaining, everyone simply continued with their work. It was soon determined that another meeting was necessary and would take place immediately after the clean-up was finished; they hadn't taken seriously the problem at hand. The battle that they'd fought tonight hadn't presented a challenge, but it certainly showed them that the threat was real. The enemy was unafraid. Here they sat, miles from any established civilization, idle. They were a red bulls-eye, a candle in the dead of night, visible to anyone who came looking. They weren't on the move, and they only had the support of each other when it came to fighting. Most fortunately, it seemed that these Separatists were a small group who lacked proper leadership and planning. Those were generally key components to any movement.

_As far as the negatives go, _Teo thought, studying the torn tents and destroyed belongings, _look what they did to this place._

The area hadn't been particularly beautiful in the first place, but even so, the damage was clear. The grounds had been made up mostly of dirt and sand, but prior to the attack, there had been wide patches of grass that danced lazily in the wind. Teo had very much enjoyed laying in these small fields, but now they were replaced by dark and dry corpses, surely to brittle to sway at all and most definitely not comfortable to lay on. Saddened by this, Teo stopped his work and gazed across the barren land.

_So much hate in this world_, he sighed, resting his chin upon his palm. As he started blankly out across the warm-colored morning sky, it came to his attention that someone was approaching. At first he didn't notice that the small black dot so far away was nearing, but as this registered in his mind, he thought better than to ignore the traveler.

"Someone's coming!" he called, and they were coming quite fast. Looking in the direction that he pointed, defensive stances were taken. As the traveler neared, though, it was made clear that he meant them no harm. Upon his sturdy ostrich-horse, a young man carried not a weapon, but several paper-wrapped packages, all bound together with string.

"Firelord Zuko!" the man called, and the young Firelord couldn't help but groan audibly.

"Unbelievable," he whispered to himself as he trudged to his caller, shocked that his council had already heard of the attack on the camp. When he stood at the ostrich-horse's side, the scout bowed honorably. Feeling as if he were being stared down, Zuko cleared his throat. Taking the cue, the scout spoke.

"Gifts," he said, handing the Firelord the packages. "From your council - to you and your friends."

Surprised, Zuko nodded. Finally, he stuttered out an "Um, thank you."

Whilst avoiding the gaze of the Firelord, the scout looked over the camp and couldn't help but speak out. "Oh my! What happened here?"

"A minor problem," Zuko replied, sparing the details. "We're just fine."

Toph stood a few feet behind Zuko, and could sense his discomfort. She smirked, crossing her arms. He really _was_ afraid of being seen as weak, wasn't he? With a wicked plan in mind, she approached him.

"Oh, loosen up, Sparky," she said, nudging him with her elbow. Then, just to get under his skin, went on. "Aren't you going to at least invite the poor guy to stay for dinner?"

Zuko grunted, and the scout quickly babbled a polite refusal, seeing the discomfort of his king. For a moment the Firelord only watched as the unfortunate young man searched for a right answer, saying this thing and that until finally he was stopped.

Zuko held up his hand, and then - grudgingly - said "I suppose it would do no harm to have a worthy scout as a companion at dinner tonight."

"Yes, yes, of course Your Highness," the scout replied, bowing again. "If Your Highness will have me, I will stay for dinner. Really, I must be on my way, though. Perhaps - um - considering the hour, and with time in mind, I might stay for breakfast instead?"

"Hm? Oh! Yes, yes, of course," Zuko nodded, his face red with embarrassment. Beside him, Toph snickered. "That's what I meant to say - that is, we've had a very long night and my mind was away from me. Forgive me."

"Yeah, Zuko," Toph menaced, a grin on her face. "Where ever was your mind?"

At that moment, Zuko would have loved to snap at her in his anger, but try as he might, he could never make himself angry at the blind girl. Knowing this, of course, only increased Toph's drive to annoy him; she was like the little sister he'd always wanted (unfortunately, he'd ended up with Azula instead). The time that he got to spend with Toph, however rare it was, was always cherished, and although Toph didn't bring up her own problems as much, Zuko always found her easy to talk to. For these reasons, when it came to the little girl, his anger was always short-lived.

"So, what's your name?" Toph asked the still-baffled young man. She stood a head shorter than him, but he still seemed intimidated by her close proximity as she neared him. "Or should I just call you Ostrich-Horse-Guy?"

"Uh," he paused for a moment, taking a breath to regain his composure. "My name is Yun, and you are?"

"Toph Bei Fong; world-renowned war hero and first ever metal bender," Toph replied, taking the man's arm when he offered it to her. "Allow me to tell you all about what happened to the Firelord this past night."

The Firelord was left standing alone and infuriated. Yes, he found it difficult to stay angry with Toph, but right now he felt as if he might blow a gasket.

The others also watched as Toph led Yun to the fire where Katara was serving up breakfast. She told the tale of their battle with dramatic detail, being sure to include the horrible danger that they were in. From his place across the small circle, Teo watched in disbelief; Toph was being so nice to this guy. As she talked, she would stop and laugh, leaning over to Yun and smacking him lightly. Not only did she seem to _not _have a burning hatred towards him, she seemed to actually _like _him. It all seemed a little unfair considering Teo's efforts to get her to simply crack a smile. He'd begun to think that she had something against him before they even talked. Something just didn't add up. How was it that he had given his best effort to be kind to Toph - even through her temper and insults - and had been rejected, and then this guy, Yun, came around and completely swept her away?

"...And if Firelord Zuko wasn't such a great warrior, those vicious attackers probably would have killed him," Toph went on. "Can you believe that, Yun? Just don't tell the Fire Nation council; they'd probably be worried for his safety."

"It really wasn't that bad," Zuko assured Yun, laughing forcefully. "_Really._ There's no reason to tell the council anything."

"Ah, yes," Yun nodded, drumming his fingers on his knee. "I'm sure. Thank you all for your time. I think I best be leaving now. Toph, would you do me the pleasure of seeing me off?"

Toph blinked. "Huh?"

"Will you walk with me?" Yun explained, holding out his hand. Toph didn't take it, but still stood and walked the distance to where the ostrich-horse was waiting. Yun climbed onto the saddle and looked down at Toph. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Uh, sure," Toph mumbled, but Yun seemed oblivious to the change in character.

"Good day," he waved, and gave the creature a small whip, and then he was gone.

Toph stood there for a moment as the distance grew, and then laughed to herself and rolled her eyes. Folding her arms, she mumbled to herself _what a sap_, and went back towards the others.

"I'm off to do some earthbending," she announced, walking past the circle of staring eyes.

"But wait, Toph," Katara stopped her, "we really need to have that meeting."

"Give me ten minutes," Toph called over her shoulder, already on her way.

When she was gone, Zuko shook his head. "It's so unfair. I'm the Firelord - and they treat me like a child! The fourteen-year-old gets treated in a more mature manner than I do."

"I think that treatment ran beyond maturity," Suki said. "I think it had more to do with infatuation."

Zuko scoffed, knowing that at least on Toph's end, it had nothing to do with infatuation. Everything that she'd done had to do with making him angry. That Yun, on the other hand, seemed blind to her motives. Most likely, he'd go back to the Fire Nation and report every detail that Toph spilled to him. Even behind her blind eyes, Zuko had seen a mischievous smile the entire time.

"So what was in those packages that Yun brought?" Aang asked, piping up after a few moments of silence.

"Oh," Zuko pondered. "I don't know. Let's see."

He went to retrieve them, and found that each was addressed to a member of the team. When every package had found its respective owner, they were unwrapped. Beneath the brown paper were noble garments of bright colors and rich but sturdy fabrics. Katara held hers up in wonder.

"This looks like it's straight from the Water Tribe," she awed. The garment of thick blue fabric was more than any mere Water Tribe outfit, though. This was something that an official would wear - it reminded her of the robes that the royalty of the Northern Tribe had worn. No, this robe was _better_ than that. Katara looked around at her friends; they, too, had received fabulous clothing.

"It's convenient for fighting too in case something should come up," Aang pointed out, and indeed, although the garments were of amazing quality, they were suitable for battle. The Fire Nation council had certainly thought this through. "Should we change now?"

"Well," Zuko considered, "no doubt they sent these because they thought we should be dressed more properly. I suppose we might as well."

By the time that they'd all gotten changed, Toph was on her way back from her bending practice. She arrived just after everyone had settled down once again, and still didn't know a thing about the new clothes. At the time, though, everyone was in a hurry to get started with the meeting, and neglected to tell her.

"Alright," Aang began. "Our meeting tent got burned to the ground, so, I guess we can just sit here. We need to discuss this whole situation. There's so much to do: building, planning, government, but for now, we need to talk about these Separatists."

"What is there to discuss?" Sokka sighed. "We know nothing about them. They appeared out of nowhere and destroyed our camp. I'll be the first to admit it: they've got the upper hand here. The question is, what can we do about it?"

"We can keep moving forward," Teo spoke up. "It's clear that we'll have to be more prepared next time. Sokka's right; we know nothing about this group of people. We don't know their size or their plans, so we'll just have to be careful. We'll have to take precautions - watch our backs. We'll have to watch who we talk to; be careful about the things we say. We won't be able to babble on to just anyone. We're smart, though; it really shouldn't be that difficult to avoid trouble."

* * *

"What news do you bring me?"

"We're up against a lot more than we realized, Master. Their group is small, but extremely skilled. I'm not sure that you were aware, but these _are_ the war heroes that defeated Firelord Ozai."

"Watch your tone, soldier. I know who they are. Now proceed in your findings."

"Forgive me, Master. Proceeding: they have a metalbender on their team, something that I did not previously know. She's a prodigy; they all are. As you know, Master, they ran us out in battle, and according to the metalbender, that fight was nothing compared to what they've faced."

"And nothing compared to what they will. Did you study them, soldier?"

"Yes, I successfully analyzed each member of their team."

"Good, good. Then we know all of their strengths and weaknesses - and with my mind, we will be able to turn their own strengths against them. Excellent work, soldier."

"Thank you, Master. I know that under your leadership, we will again sever the bond between the Four Nations."

* * *

**Whooaaa say what?! Looks like this enemy is smarter than the Gaang realizes - and they're serious about this "separate" business. This certainly isn't over, but hey, that's the fun of a story. I actually really liked this chapter. We got to see Toph _almost_ apologize to Teo (cuz let's face it, she hit him WAY below the belt with that little remark last chapter), and the plot thickens. Also, I really enjoyed the Toph/Zuko brother-sister relationship (: Although it was a lot more of Toph being a pain in the butt, but there's more fun to come with that.**

**Yes, I realize that it took me FOREVER to upload this, and I really do apologize. With the holidays, I was crazy busy, and hadn't even started the chapter until a few days ago. Since then I've been as dedicated as is humanly possible to finish. It was actually my reviewers who pushed me into high gear. I really love you guys, whether you review or not.**

****I am curious, though. Does anyone have any theories on the Separatists? Who do you think is the mastermind of this organization? Or are they a mastermind at all?**

**xoxo  
-ZuEra**


	7. Redemption

_Redemption_

This meeting seemed to go on forever. None of them had gotten sleep in the previous night, and it was already mid-afternoon. However, there was such a wide variety of things that needed to be talked about, so the meeting stretched on. They had covered a great deal of things already in this time, all relating back to the Separatists. It came to be agreed upon that both the Kyoshi Warriors and the Freedom Fighters would contribute to the city's protection. With the Separatists around, any and all security would be accepted. Aang volunteered to go to the Freedom Fighters when the time came. Much more needed to be established before that could happen, though. There were still laws to be made and leaders to elect. Many ideas were thrown around, but everyone seemed to be a fan of Aang claiming leadership. The Avatar, however, still felt fidgety when it was brought up. He couldn't decide what is fear was of; perhaps it was more than one thing. Being a leader, many choices would be presented to him; if he chose the wrong thing, the entire city would be affected by it. He was fourteen years old - sure he was wise, but it took more than wisdom to rule. A ruler also needed confidence, knowledge, and the respect of his people. Aang knew that he had done a great deal of good things for the world, but some people (particularly the Fire Nation radicals) still were against him. He shared these things with his friends, sparking some consideration. With their thoughts brewing in his favor, he went on to say:

"And I think there's one thing that bothers me most of all," he confessed. "I've seen so many examples of power gone wrong. I don't think it's right for any one man to have all the power; think about the things that have happened to the world because of that. This isn't a country; it's a city."

"But Aang, lots of cities have kings," Katara pointed out, and then counted on her fingers. "Omashu, Ba Sing Se, if you want to count the Imperial City - the list goes on."

"But those are specifically Earth Kingdom - specifically Fire Nation," the Avatar argued, becoming flustered. "What I'm saying is that we're making a city - a city for _everyone_. How could it be right for me to rule it? Or for Zuko to rule it? We need to find a way to represent everyone."

Expressions varied throughout the room as each person formed their own opinion of Aang's words. Sokka, having thought this very issue over himself, decided to speak up. "I agree with you on that Aang. We'll have people from every origin, and it wouldn't be fair to have someone rule who the people couldn't connect with. That rules out Zuko as an option..." - the Firelord sighed a sigh of great relief - "...but with all of that in consideration, Aang, you really would be the best and only option. You bend all four elements - you'll relate to them better than anybody else could."

"No!" Aang objected. "You guys don't get it! I'm the _Avatar_; I won't be able to spend every moment ruling a city - I wouldn't even be able to handle it on my own!"

Everyone fell silent, everyone trying to find a place to settle their eyes in the midst of the tension. Only Katara dared to offer Aang her hand, setting it upon his shoulder. Ashamed of his behavior, Aang bowed his head. "I'm sorry. I've been thinking it over, trying to come up with a solution; I think I might have one. What I was trying to get at was that maybe we should run this place differently than other places are run. Instead of having a king, why not do something a little more sophisticated? Put a whole group of us in there - Water, Earth, Fire and Air: a voice for everyone."

"A group of people might actually be more practical," the Mechanist said. "If you don't mind me adding my two cents, I agree with Aang. Not only would this be more comforting to the people, but it would be safer."

"And it would solve the problem of having a power-hungry king," Sokka added, and upon this his friends began to mumble among themselves, Aang trying to convince, and the other trying to make sense of it all.

This was quickly becoming chaotic; with everyone talking at once nothing would be accomplished. What prompted the blind girl to do what she next did was a mystery. Perhaps it was the feeling of inspiration that clouded over her, thick like fog. Perhaps it was the fact that she just wanted to get the show on the road already. Perhaps it was the driving passion that shot through her veins whenever she pictured this project as a reality. For whatever reason, she cleared her throat and spoke up in her most official voice. "I vote yes." When she said this, there was a pause through the chatter. No one had taken such a formal stance on anything thus far, and Toph was the last person that they would expect to begin such a thing. Growing tired of the silence, Toph explained herself. "What? We mean business don't we? I think we all know that the only way we'll get anything done is to go about it properly."

"Then I vote yes too," Suki said, nodding in Toph's direction. This was followed by several voiced agreements, and the idea quickly became law. Sokka documented it on a thick scroll, and each of them - minus Toph - signed their names at the bottom. It was then that a feeling of accomplishment clouded over them; this was the first true law that they made - the first real step towards bringing up this city. For so long they'd dreamed of this; it felt like a lifetime. Talking was good, planning was great, but kicking things into action was crucial. It was a great relief to have finally done something measurable.

"This is it, guys," Aang breathed, a wide smile on his as he looked over the document. "This is where it all begins. Is everyone else as excited about this as I am? This city is real - and it's going to change the world forever. It's not just a city with a king who rules over his citizens. It's going to be a - a _republic_."

And so the discussion of just exactly what a "republic" was; Aang defined it simply as what their newly signed document stated: a republic was a way of governing in which the citizens would elect their own officials. The world had never seen a system exactly like this; typically, it was the king who appointed such officials as governors or (more commonly in these recent times of war) military authorities, who quite often gained political power of some kind. For this city, however - this republic of a city - it was to be the people who would decide. A simple majority would decide on each council member of the city, and each element would get one representative in its name. According to what had just been written, anybody could apply for the position - a prospect that sounded fair, but somewhat frightening due to the massive campaigning that would surely take place. Perhaps for the first little while, the lot of them could take care of the positions - just until things fell into place. That would certainly ease the burden, should the people allow it.

On the subject of politics, the Mechanist drew from his leather pouch a folded piece of paper, spreading it across the sandy ground. He introduced the illustration on its surface as an official meeting building - a "city hall", he called it. The building was to be made of pure marble, an expensive material that could only be hoarded from the deep Fire Nation canyons and certain parts of the Earth Kingdom. From the marble, brilliant floors would be kept in top-notch condition, hidden just beyond the doors and pillars that guarded it. The interior would be completed with seats for every council member, and an area for the noble court to sit. The walls, as well, were to be made of fine stone - only the best for such an important place of meeting. Teo did his best to describe all of these things aloud in detail, struggling to capture the more minute characteristics such as the regally ascending front staircases and the gold accented rooftops, but wanting to be sure that Toph had an equal visual to the rest of them. She seemed to get the idea, and even gave a few suggestions of her own. In the end, the blueprints of the city hall were something that the were all quite proud of.

With most of the architectural plans completed, there came the topic of when the foundation for the city could be laid out; no building could be done with the ground in its present condition. In a matter of two weeks, it was eventually decided, the land would be prepared for building. This job was to fall upon Toph, for the most part, who refused the suggestion to bring in professional help. No one could handle the earth in the way that she could, Toph claimed proudly, and no one could find a reason to argue. The one thing that Toph dreaded was the time that it would take. Rather than try to do it all at once, Toph had it in her mind to spread the work out, starting in the next few days and (if she worked diligently) finishing by the time the others expected her to begin.

"I think that's enough for the day," Sokka admitted, yawning. "I think I'm gonna lay down for a while."

"Me too," Katara agreed. "I don't think any of us really got to sleep last night."

As the others found their beds, Toph stood and walked away from the camp, out into the barren land. She planned to find the most comfortable rock and obtain an amazing sleep. Teo, who for some reason felt wide awake, followed after her, not realizing her mission. A certain thought was pressing at his mind, and the more he let it sit idle, the more his chest bubbled and brewed, coming to a boil before he could stop it. He rolled up next to her, a cynical grin on his face.

"So, you seemed pretty into that Yun guy," he said, with tones of frustration lying beneath his words.

Toph stopped, her shoulders erect. "Excuse me?"

"That scout guy; you seemed pretty taken by him."

Disgusted, Toph turned and continued walking. "Not at all."

That should have been all that Teo needed to hear in order to feel better, but something was still gnawing at him, so he went on with his menacing. "Really? Cuz all of the laughing and flirting usually doesn't happen with the guys that you hate - I would know."

"Yeah, I guess you would," Toph snapped, and then added, "The laughing and 'flirting' happens when I'm trying to get Zuko into trouble - no other time."

Skidding to a stop, Teo paused. "Trying to get Zuko into trouble?"

"Yes!" Toph exclaimed. "Trying to get him in trouble! As in 'make sure his council finds out and pesters him'! Spirits, if I didn't know better I'd say you were jealous!"

Teo liked to think of himself as someone with good self-control, but at this moment, any control was long gone; they'd walked far away from the camp now, bickering on and on and maybe Teo was a _little_ tired, so when it came down to it, he didn't care about his lack of control. "Jealous? No. Frustrated and confused? Yeah, just kind of! I don't understand how you could treat some stranger like a king when I've been working my ass of just to be your friend!"

"It was _fake_! I could care less about that stupid guy!" Toph stomped, her fists clenched. She didn't even flinch when the earth trembled beneath her. "I find it quite ironic that you have so much to say considering the fact that you're a nervous wreck every time you open your mouth to speak in our meetings. If it's so scary to speak then just keep your mouth shut."

Those were the words that pushed Teo over the edge. "Nervous? I am not _nervous_ to speak! The only reason my heart is beating so fast is because I'm trying to put every last detail of those drawings into words since your blind eyes can't see for themselves!"

This stunned Toph. She turned on her heels to face him again, her long bangs whirling as she did so. Her mouth hung open silently for a mere half second before she found her mind again. With a voice filled with confusion - but still maintaining the spite it had carried all along - she asked a sharp "What?"

"Well - well yeah," Teo replied softly, looking at the ground. "I just didn't want you to feel left out because you couldn't see. I thought you deserved to be a part of the whole thing too."

Toph was quiet. Once again she was filled with guilt and amazement that even through her cruel behavior Teo was so kind to her. The question of his reasoning weighed heavily on her mind. All along he'd been looking out for her, trying to embody pictures into words, when he didn't even have to - when he shouldn't have even thought to. At first Toph had been worried about that exact thing, but Katara had offered to explain all of the paper plans to her when the meetings were over. She'd never needed to, though, thanks to Teo. He'd been doing that the entire time, not to mention - as he put it - working his ass of just to be her friend with other kind gestures, and she'd yelled at him - time after time. Now they stood here, without anyone to moderate their fighting, and he'd finally cracked. She supposed that she deserved this.

"Why?" she finally asked, all of the anger vanishing from her voice. Before Teo could answer, she shook her head. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?"

"Sorry for-"

"You know what I'm sorry for. I know that I've been horrible to you; I guess we just got off to a rough start, and I hold a pretty tough grudge. I really don't deserve all the nice behavior," she confessed, holding back a sigh. "Um, thanks, though."

"Yeah, of course," he replied. "So can we just be friends and put all of this behind us?"

With some consideration, Toph agreed. "Yeah, but don't think that I'm going to completely change. It doesn't matter how much I like you - the Blind Bandit doesn't get much nicer than what you've seen."

Teo smirked. "Not at all?"

"A little," Toph allowed. "Don't count on any hero worship, though."

"Wouldn't dream of it," the boy replied, a grin stretching across his face before he could help himself.

To Toph's surprise, Teo didn't immediately turn away and return to camp. In fact, he didn't turn away at all; he matched her quick pace, and although the wood of his wheelchair made her view of his body fuzzy, she could still tell that he was looking up at her. Not wanting to contribute anymore to the rudeness she'd been showing him, she focused on blocking out the shaky vibrations of his chair that made her skin crawl.

"So," Teo said, and then paused as if he was waiting for a response. When she gave him nothing of the sort, he continued on. "Now that we're friends, how about we have a friendly conversation?"

Toph snorted, and gave him a look that spoke without words: "Are you kidding me?"

"Alright," he said upon seeing her expression. "I'll start then. Tell me about your earthbending. I heard that's how you see."

"It is," Toph replied, still guarded. As the seconds of silence increased, her walls slowly melted away. "It's like - it's like I see with my feet."

"Ah, really? I wouldn't know what that's like," he chuckled. "For more reasons than one."

"It's interesting. Since I've been blind my entire life, I can't imagine it any other way. It really comes in handy, though, with fighting - that's how I won Earth Rumble Six; I could see what my opponents were about to do before they got a good start on it."

"So that probably still comes in handy now, huh?" Teo mused. "It's almost like a secret weapon."

Toph found this particularly amusing, and laughed out loud in spite of herself. "Yeah, I guess it kind of is. A lot of people think of blindness and associate it with weakness. When I was a kid - until I joined Aang - everyone in my life treated me like I was helpless."

"Helpless?" Teo repeated. "But you're - you're so strong. How could they think that?"

"They didn't know what I could do," Toph shook her head, being taken back to the days of bitterness and frustration. "They wouldn't even take the time to listen. That doesn't matter anymore, though; the point is that being blind made me _stronger_, and it made my earthbending better. I can see things that you wouldn't believe."

"Tell me more."

"See that rock up there - about thirty feet ahead?" Toph asked, and as she suspected he would, Teo leaned forward, craning his neck and then shook his head. "I can. There's a family of beaver-rabbits in a burrow underground back that way; I can see them too."

"That's - that's incredible," he awed. "Just how far can you see?"

"I can see everyone back at camp, still," she said without missing a beat. "Its a little blurry from this far away, but I think Katara's starting dinner - or maybe cleaning up; we might have missed it."

Beneath the fabric of his shirt, Teo's stomach began grumbling crankily. "That would sure be a shame."

Not responding, Toph ran ahead a ways and jumped on a rock, perching like a bird until Teo caught up with her moments later. It was interesting to her, having a conversation with him like this. She had been so stubborn about her hatred of him without really having a reason. Sure, he was a little annoying, but she'd been flat-out cruel towards him. Perhaps she'd been a little hard on him; she at least owed him a good conversation. Leaning back on the rock, Toph let out a small sigh.

"People just don't get it," she said, turning on her side and blowing her bangs out of her face. "My 'weakness' makes me stronger. Even if I had a choice, I'd never change my blindness."

Overcome with sympathy and respect for the girl, Teo moved closer, slowly reaching his hand out towards her. She turned away suddenly, though, before he could make contact. He flinched at the sharp movement and frowned, but thought better of letting it upset him. He should have known not to be sentimental with a girl like Toph. What she'd said had really spoken to his heart, though, and for a moment he just couldn't help himself. In some twisted way, she reminded him of himself.

"That's like me and flying," he concluded. When Toph didn't so much as acknowledge that she'd heard him - her back turned and her body still - he decided that she must have and continued on. "I can't walk, but I'm not any less whole than the next guy. I can do things that others can't too, Toph."

This seemed to catch the earthbender's attention, and she surrendered her stiff pose for one more comfortable.

"I can fly."

"Fly?" she said back to him, trying to figure out the meaning on this word. "As in, fly on Appa?"

Teo smiled, amused. "No, as in fly on my own - like Aang does."

"How do you-"

"My dad made me this glider," he explained, the excitement in his voice increasing. "It comes right out of my chair. To feel the wind in my face as I'm speeding through the sky - I mean, wow - it reminds me of running, but it's better."

"You mean, you weren't always in a wheelchair?" Toph tried to imagine Teo out of his chair, running freely like any other person, but having never got a good view of him, she couldn't picture it. With his personality, though, she could picture it vividly. If Teo could walk, she could tell that he wouldn't be the type of guy to sit around and be lazy; he would go out and run and play and love it all the while.

"No," Teo answered shortly, and then entered into a state of bittersweet nostalgia. "Not always."

Noticing the serious turn that the conversation had taken, Toph shrugged casually. "Well, you're probably better off this way."

At that, Teo laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right. Like you and your blindness, it made me stronger."

Toph, who had grown tired of the depth in their conversation stood up and turned to Teo - who seemed hell-bent on the depth. Mustering up all of the kindness in her heart, she changed the subject, beginning to walk back towards camp. "So yeah, thanks again for all of the - er - help in the meetings - not that I really needed it. It seems like your dad has some pretty neat stuff planned out."

"Yeah, he does," Teo nodded. "I've seen almost all of the plans, although I haven't looked over them all in detail. Once the essential things have been put up, my dad's got this great library planned out; I'm really excited for it."

"Library, huh?" The idea of a library wasn't particularly thrilling to Toph. Knowledge and fantastical tales were great for intellectuals and dreamers like Aang and Teo, but Toph found no use for them. Beyond the obvious fact that she couldn't read, Toph wasn't much for tall-tales or showering oneself with knowledge. She preferred to learn things on her own - through her own experiences. After all, how could another man tell her how she was to live her life when he had never stepped foot in her shoes? Teo, on the other hand, seemed fascinated with the prospect of the new city having a library. She would have expected as much, though.

"It's going to be incredible," Teo went on. "Really, you'll just have to see it Toph; you'll love it."

"There are two things wrong with that sentence, Flyboy," Toph called over her shoulder, not bothering to turn back towards him as she hopped across another rock.

"Ha, Flyboy?" Teo laughed lightly, studying the blind girl as she balanced herself atop the narrow boulder. "I like that."

"Wouldn't matter to me if you hated it," Toph replied simply, causing Teo to lift an eyebrow in curiosity. It made sense, though; when had she ever cared what anyone thought? "So flying - that's your 'big thing'?"

"My big thing," he mumbled, smiling. "Yeah, you could say that. It's just a rush. When I'm up there in the open sky, I can forget all of my problems. I haven't been able to fly much as of late, though. There's not much of a take-off point so I can only stay in the sky for a few minutes."

Toph became quiet for a moment, then, and Teo took the opportunity to study her; she was probably the most fascinating girl that he'd ever met. In the places where other girls held their tongues for the sake of dignity, Toph would shoot of her mouth. Where other girls displayed beauty and proper behavior Toph could care less. Yet, Toph had a form of dignity that was all her own; she carried herself with pride, regardless of what others said about her. She was irritating and constantly nagging on everyone, and while it drove him crazy, he couldn't help but want to learn more about her. She never seemed to give him a second glance until that very moment, though.

"So you were flying in that battle with the Separatists then?" she continued suddenly, spoiling Teo's suspicions that she might have been thinking of something deep and personal.

"Yeah, I was. I wasn't able to do much good, though, because, like I said, I can barely get off the ground."

"Gotcha. Well, that's pretty cool that you can do that." They were approaching the camp once again, their long walk coming to a close. Toph felt relieved; something about their conversation had made her quite uncomfortable. Immediately following their arrival, Toph went to bed, creating an earth tent for herself and announcing that someone else could have her tent now that they were short a few; she'd be more comfortable this way. Shortly after, Katara slipped away, most likely going to bed herself. Teo was about to do the same when Sokka and Aang pulled him aside.

"So, I see you're not dead," Sokka observed, examining Teo twice over.

"Uh, no," Teo looked over himself. "Still breathing as far as I can tell."

"He means you and Toph," Aang urged. "What were you guys talking about?"

"We thought we heard yelling," Sokka added, and Teo bowed his head.

"Yeah," he sighed. "We kind of had a fall-out. It was settled, though. I think all of the tension is going to stop for the time being."

Sokka gestured Teo to continue on just as Zuko sat down with the tree of them.

"What's going on?" he asked, noticing the two other boys' curious stature as they leaned towards Teo.

"Nothing, really," Teo answered. "I think I'm going to go to bed now. Goodnight, guys."

"Wait!" Sokka called after him. "I wanted the details!"

Teo just continued on, shaking his head. He peaked into his father's tent before going to his own. Only when he was sleeping was the Mechanist at peace. Like the machines that he created, Teo's father was always on the move, always piping along in an almost mechanical nature. As Teo climbed from his chair to the ground safe inside his tent, he thought of the way that his father busied himself so constantly, always making sure that his spare moments were eliminated. Part of it was in his nature, Teo knew. He also knew that part of it was to fill the void in his heart - the void that had become so prominent after his wife, Teo's mother, had died. So many times, sympathetic people would ask him how he was doing after his mother "passed on", or "passed away". Teo understood that they were trying to be gentle - he really did - and he appreciated it - he _really_ did - but the fact was, his mother hadn't died of old age. She hadn't gone peacefully in her sleep. She had drowned; she died.

_She died_, Teo emphasized bitterly in his mind as he unwrapped the bindings on his legs. After the flood paralyzed him, a doctor from a nearby town had instructed Teo to exercise his legs as much as possible, even though it would mean physically picking them up with his hands and bending them time and time again. Even though his arms would go numb after so many repetitions, he would continue on. It would save the muscles of his legs, the doctor had told him. There were nights when he felt as if saving his legs would somehow safe his mother. She hadn't been saved, though; no one had saved her. Some nights, Teo forgot to do his exercises, usually not feeling guilty until the following night. They weren't that difficult; he shouldn't have dreaded or forgotten them. He had done good tonight, though, and felt satisfied not only with his exercises, but with his conversation with Toph. He knew that she still didn't care much for him, but the hatred was gone, and knowing her, he couldn't ask for more than that. They would probably never be close like she was with her friends, but he didn't mind all that much.

Shedding his tunic and crawling beneath the covers on his sleeping mat, Teo replayed the evening in his mind. It truly could have been a disaster; he'd lost his temper with her, an action that he regretted now. Fortunately, she'd been understanding and, in fact, hadn't even thought twice of it. Again, he thought of how strange Toph was; she'd caught him completely off-guard with her hot temper and feisty attitude. The longer he thought about it, the more he felt that he'd never once met a soul more different from him than Toph. She was extremely interesting, though, so he decided that maybe that wasn't so bad.

* * *

**Wow! Hello again, guys! I know, I know, it's been way too long. Unfortunately, no matter how much I'd like to write, my creative side seems to have a mind of its own, and it's very stubborn. Of course by the time it decided to kick things into high gear, it was exam week, so I didn't have nearly as much time as I would have liked. Nevertheless, I'm here now! I felt like this chapter was a good resting place after all the excitement in the last one, and it was quite "teoph-centric" as well. I wasn't too thrilled with the amount of dialogue in the end part of this chapter, but I was very satisfied with the very end, getting to learn more abut Teo's past and feelings.**

**And now to reply to a guest review (:  
****Ally - Yeah, I know the subject of sexual relations for our friends seems a bit uncomfortable; it was definitely odd to write about it. The way I see it, though, they're teenagers with crazy hormones and desires, who have been together for quite a while. A random fun fact! In the episode "The Southern Raiders", Zuko goes to see Sokka and catches him in an - er - awkward situation, as everyone is well-aware. The following morning, Sokka can be seen toying with a flower necklace, which was Bryan and Mike's little inside joke as if to say that Sokka got "lei-ed" and Suki was "deflowered". So see? (; The creators thought of it first!**

**Some random personal news! I am the new admin for the Zutara Facebook fanpage :D It's a trial run, though, after which the fans will choose between myself and another trial admin. It's really quite exciting (: I hope I make it.**

**I'll try to get the next chapter up asap! **

**xoxo ZuEra**


	8. Changes

**Oh? What? An author's note at the beginning? Yes, this is different for sure. I just wanted to apologize for my month-long hiatus. I suppose you can expect long waits between chapters, at least for the time being. Fortunately, during the time when I should have been studying for the ACT (which I took today), my writing gland decided to reactivate and I was able to finish this. Anyhoo, see you at the end of the chapter!**

* * *

Changes

_"What's their deal?" Sokka asked, confused by the special attention that his friends were giving him._

_"They missed you or something; I didn't care," Toph lied, turning away to hide the blush on her face._

_"You talk too much," Sokka said, although Toph knew the words were not meant for her ears. She did her best not to grimace as the two resumed their kissing, feeling a thick cloud of bitterness sweep over her._

_"Do you really think that friendships can last more than one lifetime?" she questioned meekly with her face to the ground._

_Aang took her hand, enclosing it in his own. "I don't see why not."_

_"Wow, you look great," Aang gawked, but the compliment was not for her. It was for Katara, who most definitely looked better than her - Toph knew this without seeing. Fortunately, she reminded her self, looks didn't matter to her; she was blind - she was stronger than that._

_She could feel the sweat building between their hands as she slowly slipped from his grasp._

_"I guess this is the end," Sokka cried mournfully. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that after all this, they were still a team, and they were going out together._

_"Nervous? I am not _nervous _to speak! The only reason my heart is beating so fast is because I'm trying to put every last detail of those drawings into words since your blind eyes can't see for themselves!" Teo growled, shocking her with his words. The anger that she had harbored against him suddenly dissolved into feelings of confusion and remorse._

_"I thought you deserved to be a part of the whole thing too," the boy went on, his voice soft and gentle in contrast to its previous fury._

_"You deserved to be a part of the whole thing too."_

_"You deserve it."_

_From inside the house, she could feel the lips of Aang and Katara meet - she could feel Sokka and Suki grab each other's hands, she could feel Zuko put his arm around Mai, and she could feel herself losing her mind._

Toph sat up violently, breathing heavily. She turned about, realizing that she was still here in her tent. Her pulse rushed when she realized the cause for her strange dream: the bodies. It wasn't uncommon for the feeling of bodies tangled together to send such lonely memories into her mind. Over the past years, she'd collected a bundle of painful, provoking memories that liked to haunt her when she was vulnerable. The repeating movement sent chills down her spine. Without anything else to do, Toph rolled to her side, away from the source. The effort was pointless, though, because she knew that no matter how far she ran, no matter where she was at or who she was around, she would never be able to escape the feeling of the bodies.

* * *

When she woke again, hours later, she could feel her friends moving around outside. Groaning, she realized that she'd slept in. Hastily, she scrambled from her covers and ducked out of her fortress. She'd meant to rise early this morning in the name of laying the city's foundation; that, apparently, was not going to happen now. No matter, she shrugged, she could still get a start on it and make a good amount of progress. Not wanting to be distracted from her work, Toph didn't bother to greet any of her friends. Aang, however, was always sure to say hello to everyone and called out to her from his seat by the morning campfire.

"Good morning, Toph!" he waved cheerfully, drawing everyone's attention to her. She shot him a less-enthusiastic reply, and turned her back quickly, rubbing her hands together in preparation for her work. Taking a deep breath, she readied her stance.

"Wait, Toph."

The ground shook beneath her stomping feet.

"What?" she growled, whirling around to face Katara, who stood at her heel.

"You should eat some breakfast," Katara suggested, dismissing the tone of Toph's voice. At the moment, Toph didn't want to eat; she wanted to work. Still, her stomach growled loudly in spite of herself. Grudgingly, Toph clutched her stomach and followed Katara back towards the smell of a hearty meal.

"Someone's a little anxious to work," Sokka commented when Toph sat down. The earthbender just scoffed at him, taking a bite of bread as Katara poured soup in her bowl.

"And once Toph finishes her work, Sokka, you'll be able to start yours," Zuko pointed out, calling out the Water Tribe warrior.

"My work?" Sokka said back, and Zuko nodded.

"All of our work. We have to build this city ourselves."

At that both Sokka and Toph snorted with laughter, and the Water Tribesman replied, "There's no way that _I'm_ building the city; that's impossible."

"No kidding," Toph snickered. "You can't honestly entrust _Snoozles_ of all people with such a great responsibility."

Sokka nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you can't honestly - hey!"

Zuko bowed his head, resting his fingers against the bridge of his nose. "You may have a point."

"So what, then?" Toph crossed her arms. "You want me to do this whole thing by myself? I mean, I'll do it, but-"

"I'm thinking," Zuko shushed her irritably, holding up his hand to her. Even with Toph's precision, it would be unreasonable to give her the task of physically building the city. The blind girl, although extremely skilled, was no expert in architecture; none of them were. It would take someone with experience and knowledge of such things to build the new republic. The young Firelord tried to focus, closing his eyes and visualizing their location as if on a map; what was around them? They were surrounded by barren land; the least likely thing they would find around here would be a city or a town. However, just about six months ago Zuko had been in the area and had met up with a low-ranking Earth Kingdom official at a post that could be no more than ten miles from here. The official, a short but well-fit man who addressed himself as Corporal Khun, was head of the post. Khun watched over the new recruits and trained them. Faintly, Zuko remembered the Corporal mentioning that the men of that very post had taken part in some construction project and had done so successfully. The two had gotten along splendidly, but still, the meeting managed to end on a sour note. Sergeant Long, Khun's higher boss, had taken an instant disliking to the new Firelord and made it painfully clear. By the time that the meeting had ended, Sergeant Long was practically throwing Zuko out the door. Still, they didn't have many other options, so Zuko hoped that the opinions of Long were an obstacle that could be maneuvered around.

With no better suggestions, he turned to his friend. "Sokka, can I see your map?"

"My map?" Sokka repeated questioningly. Seeing the serious look on Zuko's face, Sokka nodded definitely and reached for his satchel. "Oh, yeah - yeah, sure."

With the map sprawled across his lap, Zuko traced his finger from their location to the location of the Earth Kingdom post. Seeing the distance, he grimaced; it was a bit further than he'd initially thought, but perhaps with Appa as a mode of transportation it wouldn't take long.

"There's an Earth Kingdom post a ways north of us," Zuko finally said, prompting the attention of his friends. "If we can get there, I think that we could get some help with the building process, or at least contact someone with more experience than we have. Aang, on Appa it shouldn't take more than a day or two to make the distance."

The Avatar, directly across from the Firelord, ducked his head, avoiding eye contact. "Well, I - I can't."

"Why not?" Katara asked, concern slowly creeping onto her face. Something wasn't right.

"I didn't want to tell you guys," Aang hesitated, "but I have to leave. The White Lotus has called for an audience with me; it sounded pretty important."

"Aang, why didn't you tell us?" Katara gasped, lowering her eyes to the ground in disappointment. Aang took her hand, enclosing it in his.

"I really wanted to get out of going, but just this morning I decided that I should probably go along with it. The trip could take a couple weeks; I have no idea why they need me. I suppose if you guys want I could go to the Earth Kingdom post when I get back, but it might be in our best interest to send someone while I'm gone."

No longer caring about the city, Katara turned to Aang. "When are you leaving?"

Aang explained that he could stay for a few more days, but that if he wanted to meet the White Lotus in a timely manner, he could stay no longer than that. A brief debate broke out as everyone interjected their ideas of what should be done, weighing the amount of time it would take for Aang to get back and the time it would take to walk to the post and back. Everyone gave their two cents, talking over one another as the tension built. Finally, Toph interfered.

"Forget about it," she exclaimed, and slowly the chatter died down. "Let Twinkletoes go about his business and I'll go to the post myself once I finish the foundation."

"Toph, are you sure that you want to do that?" Aang double checked, looking intently into the earthbender's blank stare.

"Of course I am," Toph replied without hesitation. "Anyway, it's better than sitting here like a bunch of rocks."

If there was one thing that Toph couldn't stand, it was being useless. It didn't take long for her to get restless - and restlessness was always followed closely by irritation. Nobody needed that.

"You think you'd be up to it, Toph?" Zuko double-checked. Something about his heartbeat told Toph there was reason to be concerned.

"I know I'd be up to it," she replied surely. "How far is it?"

"W-well," zuko cleared his throat, stalling. "I'd say it's on the tail end of three hundred - possibly three hundred fifty - miles."

Toph choked on the spoonful of soup she'd just loaded into her mouth. "You're kidding!"

"Look, it's not as much as it sounds like," the Firelord persuaded. "If you walked thirteen hours a day, I bet you could make it there in less than a week."

"Aha," Toph laughed sarcastically. "I am _not_ walking for thirteen hours a day."

"Walk however many hours you want," Zuko grumbled. "The distance is the same no matter what - as long as you can handle it, that is."

"What do you take me for? Of course I can handle it."

Katara, always the mother, cut in. "Well that's great, Toph, but we can't let you go alone."

Toph frowned. "Excuse me?"

She was a capable young woman with every ability to take care of herself. How could anyone think that she needed to be looked after like a child? Even at the age when most incapable children needed to be looked after Toph had been able to fend for herself. She was about to explain this to Katara (perhaps not in the most ladylike way) when the waterbender scoffed.

"I know that you think you're all big and bad, Toph, but even you're not invincible. In fact, if I remember correctly, the last time you went off on your own you ended up trapped in a big metal box and kept prisoner," Katara smirked, smugly leaning forward towards Toph. "Correct me if I'm wrong."

"Yes, I got captured," Toph admitted, her face flushed with anger, "but then I invented _metalbending_ and escaped without harm. Correct me if I'm wrong.

"Here we go," Sokka mumbled to Suki, bracing himself for a violent argument.

"Alright, alright," Aang interrupted, also sensing trouble. "Toph, I'm sorry, but I've got to side with Katara on this one. Just to be on the safe side, have someone tag along."

"Hmph," Toph scoffed. "Well Sugar Queen here definitely will not be 'tagging along'."

At this Katara rolled her eyes, but held back any remarks for the sake of keeping the peace. She was rather shocked, though, that nobody else stepped forward to accompany Toph. Sokka seemed to be blatantly avoiding eye contact with her, which truthfully shouldn't have surprised her so; when had Sokka ever volunteered to do work?

"I'll go with you, Toph."

All heads turned to Teo, who had been sitting as quietly as a mouse and as still as a stone; Toph hadn't even known he was here. Of course Teo of all people would volunteer to go with her. Why was he so eager to gain her friendship? She'd forgiven him - even called a truce; couldn't that just be enough? He was so innocent about it too; she could tell from his voice that he had bore the biggest smile when he spoke up, and was probably sporting the same grin right now as he waited for her to accept his offer. She had to give him credit, though; the guy was brave. Who in their right mind would volunteer to accompany her on a multi-day trip after being put through all of this? Aang and Katara insisted that she have a companion for the trip, and who was she to argue?

"Thanks, Teo," Katara said gratefully, not giving Toph the chance to respond on her own.

"Uh, but Teo," Sokka voiced, "the purpose of sending someone along with Toph would be for protection, and I'm not really sure that you could - oaf!"

Katara elbowed him in the rib, hissing a short lecture under her breath. Had Toph been next to him, she would have done the exact same thing - possibly worse. She didn't exactly like Teo, but he was an alright guy who deserved defense. Especially after their little talk last night, she knew that Teo's "weakness" should be viewed as anything but. It was clear that he felt very capable of his abilities, just as she did, and that she would defend to the death. With Teo's pride (and maybe some of her own) in mind, Toph declared that it would be an honor to have him accompany her.

"Just let me lay the foundation and we can get moving," she said, punching her fist into her palm. Glad to have this settled (although not completely happy with the outcome), Toph rose and once again readied herself for her work. Once again, of course, she was stopped.

"Well wait, Toph," Katara intervened. "You're going to get a bunch of earthbenders, right? Why not just wait for them to lay the foundation. It would take a lot less work between a greater number of people. If you did that, you could get a move on your trip."

Without much of a say from Toph herself, it was decided that this would be the course of action taken. They would use the rest of the day to prepare for their trip and set off first thing in the morning. As she finished her breakfast, Toph felt her stomach tingle in excitement. It had been quite a while since she'd been able to do something truly exciting, and although she'd have to deal with a tag-along, she was looking forward to the trip. Scraping up the last carrot from her soup onto her spoon, Toph stood and stretched, a yawn escaping her mouth.

"Well," she sighed. "Since there's no work to be done, I think I might retreat to my bed for a nice, long nap."

"Actually, Toph," Katara stopped her, "I have something to give you. I meant to show you this before, but I forgot. Zuko's counsel sent us new garments to wear. I figured you wouldn't be too excited about it, but since you're going out for official business, looking nice could come in handy."

"Are you saying that I look bad?" Toph asked flatly, prompting a chorus of "oooh's" from the Aang and Sokka Peanut Gallery.

"Of course not," Katara replied. "For something like this, though, you could look better. Besides, you've been wearing these clothes for a long time, now. Maybe it's time for a change."

Toph thought back to her first days here at the work site and how rude the Fire Nation counsel had been to them. They had made remarks about their clothing, implying that they didn't look professional enough for the job. Toph had been mildly offended by their words, but hadn't intended on changing everything about herself. Her own clothing was just fine. Sure, it was a little worn down and not the fanciest thing, but Toph herself was the exact same way; she didn't need high-class garments to be satisfied with her way of living, but apparently everybody else did. She didn't want to change, but if it was the only way to get the help that they needed, she supposed that she could do it.

"Fine."

* * *

Toph shifted uncomfortably beneath the many layers of her new outfit. She felt rather confined, but both Katara and Suki insisted that she would get used to it in no time. These were expensive Earth Kingdom garments, they told her, so she should be thankful. She was grateful for them - she just didn't care for them yet. It had taken her ten minutes to get dressed, even with the help of Katara and Suki. The two had then forced Toph to take off the entire outfit and put it back on again herself so that she would know what she was doing. The outfit as a whole was composed of several different fabrics. The first layer, made up of thick cotton material, had been difficult enough for her to get on. She'd struggled to push her arms through the sleeves; the fabric wasn't as loose or free as her own tunic was. Fortunately, she found that once she got situated she could move around fine. Her biggest problem was with the second layer. The material was light and silky, but there just didn't seem to be a point to it. The sleeves on the bottom layer went just to the middle of her forearm, and the sleeves on this second layer practically covered them, laying just above her elbows. As if that weren't irritating enough, she had to slip her arms through like a jacket, which proved to be difficult after putting it on upside-down twice. Two leather plates (which Toph found to be the most uncomfortable things she'd ever experienced) were secured at her hips, stretching from her upper rib-cage to her waist . When she asked how they were supposed to stay up without falling to the ground, Suki whipped out a scarf and tied it tightly around her waist. Toph wished that she'd never asked. When they tugged the shawl over her head she nearly choked, feeling confined with the fabric enclosing her throat. The only comfort that she found in this atrocious outfit was the fact that the pants seemed to mimic her own.

"I don't see what you hate so much about this, Toph," Suki said kindly. "You really do look nice."

"Beautiful," Katara emphasized, leaning back on the balls of her feet.

"I do?" Toph gasped quietly, touched. "What - what does it look like?"

"You mean - you mean the colors?" Katara asked, perplexed by Toph's question. Toph had never paid much mind to colors, not being able to see them. She considered asking Toph why she cared about the colors, but decided against it. "Well, the first shirt you put on was dark green, like - like the grass, not that you would know I guess. Anyway, the top layer is a lighter yellow, almost like in your old outfit, but richer. The pants and shawl are both dark green as well, but they have gold trim. Oh, and here; I almost forgot-" Katara pulled a pair of gloves over Toph's dainty fingers "-these are dark green. They have the Earth Kingdom symbol."

"Is that it?" Toph asked, showing no emotion, although the thought of looking beautiful excited her in a strange way.

"Yes, that's it," Katara answered, eyeing the earthbender curiously. "Why'd you ask?"

"I just wanted to know," Toph replied quickly, fiddling with her hair. There was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of cutting sheers snipping together. Toph's eyes widened. "Hold up; are those scissors?"

"Maybe," Suki admitted guiltily. "Your bangs are getting so long, Toph; I can tell that they irritate you. And you've got such long hair, but you always pull it up."

"That way I don't have to deal with it," Toph answered shortly, hoping to dodge Suki's advances. When neither Suki nor Katara replied, Toph began to feel panicked. "Look, just because I'm wearing some new clothes doesn't mean you can go changing everything about me. This isn't a makeover."

Katara snickered. "Then what exactly is it? Come on, Toph. You just said yourself that you don't like dealing with it. If you let us cut it then you won't have to deal with it at all."

"So because I don't want to deal with it, I should let the two of you destroy it? Yeah, I don't think so."

"I won't destroy it, Toph," Suki insisted. "I used to cut the Kyoshi Warrior's hair all the time. It'll look good. I could cut it nice and short; it'd hardly be any different from what you've got now except that you wouldn't even have the work of pulling it up."

Toph folded her arms. "How short?"

Suki mirrored her. "The middle of your neck. I could add some layers; it'll look great."

Toph groaned. "Ugh, fine. Just don't make me look bad and _don't _cut me."

They practically had to tie her down, knowing that in spite of her promises that she was on board, she would probably change her mind when it was too late. Indeed, as soon as Suki made the first snip, Toph cried out in agony that she liked her hair just how it was. Realizing that there was no turning back now, she silenced herself and kept still, her stomach churning.

_It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter_, she chanted. _It's just stupid hair. You don't care what anyone thinks_.

With every snippet of the scissors, Toph became more aware of the weight that was literally lifted from her shoulders. More and more hair fell to the floor in a fuzzy blur, and less was left on her head. She didn't dare move until Suki announced that she was done. It was at that moment that Toph slowly lifted her hand to her head, gasping when her fingers made contact with her neck. She ran them through her newly cut hair; it felt so smooth and fresh, but it also terrified her. The scissors had claimed all of her hair, leaving only what was left from the bottom of her ears. It was exciting and bothersome at the same time.

"It looks great, Toph," Katara complimented, putting her hand on Toph's shoulder.

"Yeah," Suki agreed. "You have great volume in your hair. You're lucky."

Toph shook off Katara's hand, emitting a quiet thank-you to Suki as she continued toying with her new cut. Try as she might, she couldn't picture it; to know what she looked like right now would be of great comfort. She'd never put much effort into her appearance - she'd never really cared - but she'd always kept it simple. This felt so elaborate and different; she wasn't used to change.

"Come on, Toph," Katara urged. "You can't hide in here forever. Let's go."

Toph sighed and stood up, grabbing her space bracelet from Sokka and fastening it in its place around her arm before following the other two girls back outside. Each person that she passed stopped to look her over, but until they spoke she had no idea what they thought of her change.

"Hey, looking good, Toph," Sokka called, and she smiled back at him.

"I like your hair, Toph," Aang complimented when she sat down, and Zuko added that she looked nice, also saying that she had looked just fine before too.

"Wow, Toph," Teo said awfully when he saw her. "You look so different."

She glared in his direction, standing up from her seat and folding her arms. "Different?"

"No! Wait! I meant different in a good way," he stammered. "In a _great_ way!"

"As if I care what I look like," she said loudly, walking away towards her earth-tent.

"Come on, Toph," he called after her. "I meant it! You look beautiful!"

She paused at that, sparking hope in the boy's heart and then crushing it when she replied "Can it, Flyboy" and stormed off.

Teo smacked his forehead, wondering how he could even be capable of messing up so much, and not knowing that as Toph walked away, her cheeks were covered in a flattered red blush. Maybe this wheelchair kid wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

**Just a little Teoph fluff there (; There may or may not be more to come now that the two will be getting quite a bit of _alone time_ together.**

**Toph's transformation: Okay, I wanted to say a few words on this, only because I don't want there to be any miscommunication. I'm not usually a fan of the whole "Toph changes herself to become more girly". That process usually includes her letting down her long flowing hair and wearing makeup and dresses, essentially for no other reason than that the author found her tomboyish personality to be flawful. In that event, her character is almost entirely changed. That was _not_ my goal through this transformation. No, Toph did not let down her long flowing hair; she cut it off. My reasons for this were mainly that time has moved one - nobody should be stuck wearing the same clothes for their entire life - and in addition to that, she's _growing up_, so it's appropriate that these changes occur. I also believe that Toph would naturally be nervous about her appearance, although she wouldn't dare say it out loud; she's not much for change as she is extremely comfortable with her way of living. By no means do I wish to create a girly, sobby, romanticized version of the Toph that we all love.**

**Toph's Outfit: I wish you guys could see the cover for the story better... That shows the outfit. I've posted just the picture in a tab, and I hope that it will show.**

**[Edit] Okay, so the link wasn't working. It is now posted on my profile where you will all have access to it. It is my PLEA that you will all go look at it, just because I really want you to have a clear image of what Toph's clothing and hair now look like. So again, PLEASE to look; it's so easy! I'm on my virtual knees! Just go to my profile and scroll down to the section labled "My Covers"**

**If it does not show, you can look up "Toph and Teo" by KatieKreations on DeviantArt, as I used her work as a reference for Toph's clothing. I strongly urge you to do so. (I must say, though, that her hair is not as KatieKreation's picture shows)**

**This chapter focuses on changes of all kind, not only in Toph's clothing and hair, but also in the way that her life is going to be for a few weeks while she's on her journey with Teo, and maybe even her feelings towards Teo himself. By no means is she beside herself with infatuation, but it seems to me that she's starting to see him as someone who she can get along with. **

**There's a lot to come from the events in this chapter; although I love some Teoph alone time, the romance aspect was not my only motive in the journey that they're going to take (;**

**I really hope that you'll shoot me a review (I actually really hope that you've even read this far, seeing as this note is a bit lengthy). I don't recall getting any for the last chapter, which was a bit of a downer. So...!  
Review! Review! Review!  
**

**I want to hear from you guys. Let me know what _you_ want to see happen! **

**xoxo  
ZuEra**


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